


I Want to Believe I and II

by thebasement_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1998-07-31
Updated: 1998-07-31
Packaged: 2018-11-20 14:54:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11337759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebasement_archivist/pseuds/thebasement_archivist
Summary: Mulder sets up an elaborate plan for he and Skinner to take a vacation together but their trip is cut short when an X-File demands Mulder's attention and causes a rift between the lovers.





	I Want to Believe I and II

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Basement](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Basement), which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Basement's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thebasement/profile).

 

I Want to Believe by SpookyBear

****WARNING! This is SLASH! Explicit sex scenes between two men included! If this sort of thing bothers you, or if you are under age - go away and don't read it!******  
**Another Warning - this is purely fantasy - and being such, uses no common sense such as safe sex. This fantasy world assumes that there are no such thing as STD's or other things common to unprotected sex between people. Don't try this at home without proper protection!**  
*Fox Mulder, Walter Skinner, Dana Scully, Margaret Scully, the Lone Gunmen, Frank Black, the Millennium Group and the X-Files etc. are property of Chris Carter and 1013. They are being used without permission, but since I am not making any money off of this - don't sue me. This is fan fiction only!*  
Author's note - In this little fantasy world, Gethsemane never happened, OK? Also, it assumes the new season of Millennium occurred and contains spoilers of that show. Since it was written before season five of X-Files, don't hold me responsible for any screw-ups to that plot. Oh yeah, I have been told that I have made a couple of wrong assumptions about Scully and her behavior, but I have to admit I don't watch her character movements as closely as I do Mulder's. I guess I'm biased that way. :)  
Slash M/Sk NC-17 m/m  
Outline: Mulder sets up an elaborate plan for he and Skinner to take a vacation together but their vacation is cut short when an X-File demands Mulder's attention and causes a rift between the lovers.

* * *

I Want to Believe  
by SpookyBear

Walter Skinner shook his head in amazement at the elaborate plan laid out before him. He knew that Mulder was paranoid and that they both had to be extra careful with their affair; but Fox had really outdone himself this time. The plan was this: supposedly, Skinner was going on a camping trip and Mulder was going to explore the caves of Oregon's coast. They would leave for their respective destinations a few days apart: Mulder to Portland, Oregon and Skinner to Missoula, Montana. 

Skinner sighed, then it really got complicated. From there, Mulder would head North on Interstate 5 and Skinner would head West on Interstate 90 until the two roads met in Seattle. From Seattle, they would go to a SuperMall in someplace called Auburn where they would find the rest of the information as to where they were staying, the traveler's checks and ID's of their new identities in a locker.

Skinner didn't even want to begin to guess where Fox had come up with those. He guessed it had something to do with the group of people Mulder referred to as the Lone Gunmen. The mention of the name worried Walter and he decided he didn't want to know anymore about them. Sometimes it was safer to play dumb.

From the SuperMall, they would proceed to a town whose name Walter couldn't even pronounce, to enjoy almost two full weeks of vacation together.

As Fox described some of the events going on in the town, during their vacation time, his eyes shined brightly. He was really excited about going. When he flashed Walter a resplendent smile full of playful expectation, Walter couldn't help but be caught up in the excitement as well. Fox was like a little boy at times like this and Walter loved that boyishness. Walter smiled at his lover and reached out to playfully tousle his hair, something that Fox pretended to hate. "All right Fox. It's perfect." 'You'd say anything to get him to smile like that again Walter,' he chided himself. "Let's do it."

"I thought you'd never ask," Fox said huskily as he leaned in closer. Walter started to protest that he hadn't meant *that* but Fox's breath on his neck made him forget everything. 'This man will be the death of me,' Walter sighed and gave up any semblance of protest. 'But at least I'll die with a smile on my face.'

***

The next two weeks of waiting were slow torture. The only thing that kept both men sane was their blindingly lustful weekends together. But as the "date" approached, the air of excitability around them grew.

***

"C'mon Mulder," Scully said, "if we're late again, Skinner will have our hides." Their Thursday meeting with the AD was in five minutes. Twice already this week, Mulder had procrastinated and made them late. He seemed to find it humorous; Scully felt otherwise. The last thing she needed just before vacation was to get Skinner mad. He tended to pile more work on them when he was angry.

To Scully, Skinner had seemed edgy as hell this past week. Maybe it was the fact that they were all overdue for vacation. Dana really hadn't put too much thought into it except for briefly wondering how it had happened that all three of them were going on vacation around the same time. Must have been a mix up in the personnel department. She really didn't care, at this point. All she wanted was to get away from her snickering partner and her boss for a couple of weeks. They were both getting on her nerves.

"M U L D E R!" Dana drew his name out with annoyance. God, he was being irritating!

"All right, all right, Scully," Mulder said, grinning evilly at her, "I'm coming."

***

When the intercom in Skinner's office buzzed, the clock on the wall read 10:34. Damn it, four minutes late! It seemed Mulder was purposely trying to drive him crazy.

"Let them in, Kim" Skinner growled. If he only did one thing on vacation, it would be to get back at Mulder for being a facetious brat all week. His two best agents walked into the room. Mulder looking damned pleased with himself at annoying his "boss" once again. Scully looked frustrated and apologetic. Walter wanted nothing more than to leap across his desk and kiss that smug look off of Mulder's face and then thoroughly ream him - repeatedly. Walter had to almost literally shake himself to get out of the thought.

"Agent Scully, I have some questions concerning your last case report," Walter said in his best AD voice, choosing to not even acknowledge Mulder's tardiness.

As he and Scully discussed some of her more unusual findings, Skinner noticed Mulder fidgeting in his seat and smiling at inappropriate times. "Agent Mulder, do you find something amusing?" Immediately, Mulder blushed and looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry sir," Mulder said, looking oh-so-sorry. "It won't happen again."

"Do you think you could pay attention while Agent Scully and I finish discussing this case?"

"Yes, sir."

"I certainly hope so. Oh, and Agent Mulder?"

"Sir?"

"I expect that when you return from vacation, that your attitude towards work will be properly - adjusted."

"Yes, sir." Again Mulder gazed at the floor with his most apologetic look.

Dana Scully watched the interchange between the two men in well concealed shock. She could have sworn that there had been a teasing, almost flirtatious tone between them. She could also have sworn that Mulder had almost batted his eyes at the AD. What the hell was going on?

Before she could pursue the thoughts anymore though, Skinner was asking her more questions. She tucked her questions into the back of her mind, but not before promising herself that she was certainly going to find out what was going on

***

"Well, it's going to be a quiet couple of weeks for the X-Files," Mulder said cheerfully. "What are you going to do Scully?"

'Oh how nice of you to ask,' Scully thought sarcastically. "I'm going to spend some time with my mother. You?"

"Spelunking!" Mulder said wickedly.

Scully raised her eyebrows and nodded her head. Spelunking, indeed! She doubted that. Oh, he might be doing some cave exploring though -some *human* cave exploring. She decided to see if she could shake that stupid look off of Mulder's face.

"So, Skinner really jumped your ass on Thursday," she said. Mulder almost choked on the iced tea he was drinking. Dana smiled to herself. Try as he might to cover it up, she had visibly shaken him and confirmed her suspicions at the same time. But, to act the concerned partner she said, "Mulder, are you okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I just swallowed wrong."

'Yeah right!' It didn't take a brain surgeon too see that Mulder and Skinner were involved. 'Well,' she thought, 'if you didn't know them as well as I do, you'd never suspect.' Their secret was safe with her but she would enjoy taunting Mulder about it until he told her the truth. Oh yes, she would enjoy it very much!

***

Skinner sat in the Food Court at the SuperMall waiting for Fox to come back with the package. He was anxious to get to their hotel and ravish Fox until neither of them could see. The brat had been teasing him unmercifully since they met up in Seattle. Walter was thankful that his overcoat hid the hard-on he had, but damn, it was difficult to think, let alone walk, and Fox seemed to take every opportunity he could to "accidently" brush up against it.

"Well, Mr. William Sanders, how are you today?" Fox asked, handing Walter an envelope containing his fake ID and traveler's checks. Walter glanced at the ID. William Scott Sanders. The initials were the same as his. Leave it to Fox to make sure that his monogrammed luggage matched his new ID.

"And who might you be?" Walter asked.

"Frank Miller." Fox smiled. Walter rolled his eyes heavenward. How had he ever let Fox talk him into this? His answer was that he was a slave to his raging lust.

They walked side-by-side, chatting until they got to the parking lot. They found the Ford Bronco that Fox's friends had arranged for them and drove to their final destination.

"Where are we going again," Walter asked. He wanted to hear how Fox pronounced the name of the town.

"Puyallup. Home of the Western Washington Fairgrounds." Pew-al-up. Walter practiced it silently. Must be a Native American name.

"...and the fair is going on right now!" Fox said gleefully making Walter wonder again if he was in love with an eight year old.

"But first, the hotel." Walter said. He couldn't stand it anymore. If he didn't fuck Fox soon, he'd explode.

"Why Mr. William Sanders," Fox said in his best southern belle imitation, "are you horny?"

"Shut up and drive."

***

Fox shut and locked the door of the hotel room with exaggerated slowness. He wasn't sure how much longer he could tease Walter before the man either became angry with him or ripped his clothes off. Fox preferred the latter.

Walter didn't give him too much time to think about before he pushed Fox against the wall and began to hurriedly undress him.

"My, we are in need, aren't we?" Fox quipped. He loved it when Walter was out of control like this; overwhelmed by his desire. Fox took a special perverse pleasure in seeing his normally calm and collected lover stirred to a frenzy. He began to undress Walter. He opened his shirt, then unbuckled his belt and pushed his pants and briefs down, freeing Walter's fully erect penis.

"Shut up," Walter said gruffly covering Fox's mouth with his own. He was going to get relief soon, and then exact his revenge on Fox for making him wait. His hands snaked their way down Mulder's chest to rest on his nipples. After being lovers for nearly a year, he knew how to bring Fox to his knees. He firmly squeezed both nipples at once.

Fox moaned loudly and sank to the floor. 'Works every time,' Walter thought wickedly, 'now I'll put something in his mouth to really shut him up.' He didn't have to do it himself though. Fox hungrily latched on to Walter's cock and began to slide his mouth up and down. Walter had to put his hands out on the wall to keep himself from falling. Sensing his lover's unsteadiness, Mulder maneuvered them around so that Walter was leaning with his back against the wall, then continued to suck off his partner.

Walter grabbed Mulder's head and held on for dear life. Fox let him control the speed, knowing how needy Walter was at the moment. As Walter thrust into him, he blindly patted around on the floor searching for his fallen pants for the small tube of Astroglide he had carried in them. When he finally found it, he applied some to his fingers and probed the small opening of Walter anus. Walter growled low in the back of his throat at the touch and bucked, pushing Fox's finger deeper. He fucked Fox's mouth as Fox finger fucked his ass, first with one, then two fingers. As Fox began to put the third finger in, Walter's anal muscles suddenly contracted with a crushing force as he came hard. Fox greedily sucked down his lover's cum and fought to keep his buried fingers from being ripped off with the intensity of Walter's orgasm.

Walter normally dragged out their love making sessions for as long as possible but with the shortness of this one, Fox knew he had teased his lover too much. It took almost three minutes of Walter gulping breaths of air before his body relaxed enough to let go of Fox's fingers. Fox sat back on his heels and watched Walter slide slowly to the floor still half dressed, his pants and briefs around his ankles. Fox realized the he was still in his boxers. They had never finished undressing. He snickered when he looked at Walter's face. He still had his glasses on and they were fogged over. 'I guess he got a little worked up,' Fox thought.

"What's so funny," Walter asked. He was exhausted. He hoped he wouldn't keel over.

Fox just reached over and took his glasses off and finished undressing him. "Nothing," he said. After he pulled Walter's clothes off he began to take his boxer's off when Walter stopped him.

"Oh no you don't." The hand on Fox's wrist was insistent. "Those are mine to remove." What did Walter have in mind? Fox had the sinking feeling that the older man was going to make him pay for all of his teasing. At the promise of more to come, Fox's own hardened cock twitched in anticipation. Walter saw it move under the silk of Fox's boxers. He smiled evilly as he stood, scooped Fox up in his arms and literally dropped him on the bed.

He lay down beside Fox and languidly kissed him, tasting his mouth and tongue slowly. With his own need now mostly sated, he could take his time to deliciously torture the younger man with desire. He moved his kisses slowly away from Mulder's mouth and onto his neck. Kissing and licking his arms, shoulders, chest , stomach and legs, Walter carefully avoided Fox's genitals and nipples until the younger man was whimpering.

Fox's hand went down to stroke his painfully hard cock but Walter stopped it, bringing it up over his head and pinning it to the mattress.

"No Fox," he said, "your cock is mine." Fox whimpered again and trying to brush against Walter to relieve some of the tension in his penis. Walter chuckled. He lifted the waistband of Fox's boxers to look at his lover's penis. He gently stroked the tip of the head with his index finger causing Fox's breath to become ragged.

"Oh God, Walter," Fox moaned, "do you want me to beg?"

"Isn't that what you wanted me to do earlier?" Walter countered. Fox had done his damnedest to make Walter break down. "You teased me for almost six hours, in public even. And now you ask for mercy?" He carefully removed Fox's boxers, making sure not to brush the rock hard organ. Walter sat up and reached for one of his bags on the floor.

"You move at all Fox and I'll tie you up spread eagle and then leave."

"You wouldn't dare," Fox said knowing full well that Walter could and would do just as he promised if pushed too hard.

"Oh yeah, I would." Fox decided not to push his luck and remained still until Walter laid back down beside him. His eyes went wide when he saw what the older man had in his hand.

"You're not planning on using that thing on me, are you?" That thing was a large, ringed, nowhere-near-anatomically-correct, dildo. Fox looked at it again. 'Maybe it would be better described as a plug,' he thought giddily. Either way, it would take some finagling to accommodate it.

"What is it Fox? Afraid of a little latex toy?" Walter dangled it in front of Mulder's face.

"I wouldn't exactly call that little," Fox giggled nervously.

Walter proceeded to apply some Astroglide to the plug. He stopped and frowned briefly, trying to figure out how he was going to orchestrate everything. He grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed and tucked it under Fox's hips, making them rise several inches.

"Comfy?" he asked.

Fox grunted an affirmative. 'As much as I can be,' he thought. Walter slowly applied some of the lube to Fox's hole and worked in it gradually. He worked the tight opening , stretching it and massaging it until Fox relaxed enough for it to remain slightly open after withdrawal. He then worked the tip of the plug in. Fox gasped as the plug passed the first nodule. Only several more to go, each getting slightly larger. Walter moved the plug back and forth slightly before gently pushing it in deeper and over the next nodule. Mulder moaned even louder. The bumps and nodules teased the muscles of his sphincter whenever he breathed. He felt more of the lube applied as Walter pushed the plug in even further.

Fox's hips thrust forward involuntarily as the plug massaged his prostate. He cried out in pain/pleasure at the feel of it all. He'd lost count as to where he was. Walter pushed again. Fox was panting hard as another nodule slid in. He felt that he was at a bursting point, that he couldn't take anymore when Walter applied a little more lube and gave the plug one final push. The plug slid firmly into place. Fox was trembling hard now.

"Please Walter, I can't stand it anymore," he cried. "Give me some release."

Walter just nodded and rubbed some of the lube on Fox's cock. He then lowered himself onto Fox.

"Release yourself into me, Fox," he hissed. Mulder didn't need anymore encouragement to drive him. He thrust upwards. As he thrust, his ass muscles would clamp down on the plug and rub his prostate gland. His whole body felt as if he were blazing. He was dimly aware that Walter was jerking off as he rode Mulder's hips. Without warning, Fox came; his body spasming wildly.

The next thing he remembered was Walter staring down at him with a worried expression on his face. "Are you alright?" the older man asked. All Fox could do was nod. He was still quivering, his body soaked with sweat and semen. His butt muscles clenched. The damn plug was still in him, but oh God, what a wonderful feeling!

"Walter," he croaked. His throat was so dry he could barely speak. "I think I blacked out." He began to giggle, a little at first, then in torrents. Walter shook his head back and forth. The normally seriously, intense young man always became a little bizarre after sex. But, Walter couldn't help but join in the laughter. It was contagious.

When the laughter faded, Fox turned to his lover and said, "Can you help me remove this thing? It's becoming uncomfortable."

Walter looked horrified that he had forgotten all about the plug.

"Oh shit Fox, I'm sorry," he said taking a hold of the end of it. Fox put a hand over Walter's and looked in his eyes.

"Slowly, Walter," he said deadly serious. "I would probably die of sensory overload if you took it out fast." Walter nodded solemnly and eased the first nodule out. Although Fox had just come hard, the sensation of the plug being withdrawn was causing the blood to flow back into his penis with a vengeance. Walter eased another nodule out. Fox saw stars. As Walter began to tug lightly for the third time, Fox became possessed. He pushed Walter's hand out of the way, grabbed onto the plug and yanked hard. He came again, without his cock being touched.

This time, he *knew* he blacked out!

***

He came to when the warm washrag touched his chest. Walter was cleaning him off. All Fox could do was watch. When the sponge bath was complete, he settled into Walter's embrace and fell into a deep, untroubled sleep.

***

Three days into her vacation, Dana Scully knew an uninterrupted vacation was too good to be true when her mother handed her the phone with that famous Scully look on her face.

"It's for you Dana," Margaret said. "I think it's the Bureau." She watched as her daughter listened to the voice on the phone. Watched as Dana's face changed from annoyed, to shocked, to concerned. "What is it Dana?" she asked when the phone was hung up.

"I'm sorry, Mom. There is a case that needs attention now and no one can find Mulder."

"Is Fox OK?" Margaret asked worriedly. She cared for her daughter's partner a great deal. She harbored secret hopes that maybe he and Dana would...... Not that it would ever happen though.

A strange look crossed Dana's face at her asking; something Margaret couldn't identify.

"Yeah, Mom. I'm sure Mulder is just fine," Dana said. "I gotta go though. Someone has to take care of this." They gathered Dana's thing in relative silence; each woman's thoughts centered around Fox Mulder and what possible mess he had gotten himself into this time.

***PART TWO***

"You're supposed to enjoy fairs, Walter," Fox prodded. "They're meant to be fun!"

The noise and the crowd of people annoyed the older man though. He was so used to being alone and secluded. He just gave Mulder one of his withering Assistant Director looks and allowed himself to be led through the throngs of people.

By the end of the day, he grudgingly admitted that he was having fun. Watching Fox get excited about everything from making rubber frogs fly through the air into fake lily-pads to riding the roller-coaster four or five times made him feel young again. He wondered briefly if Fox had allowed his childish wonderment to cease when his sister had disappeared, only to regain it when he was older and in love.

'Don't give yourself too much credit for his happiness, Walter,' he chided himself. But he couldn't help but feel somehow responsible for Fox's gaiety. It was at times like this when Walter Skinner wished society didn't frown on same sex couples so much. He wanted to put his arms around Fox and walk through the fairgrounds hand in hand like the lovers they were.

Instead they kept a "safe" distance apart, each holding a cheap stuffed animal that Fox had won during his frog flying exploits. They stopped to look at a few souvenirs that Fox was considering for Scully. He finally chose a delicate hand-blown glass rose trimmed with gold that made Walter wonder again exactly how close the two agents were. He knew they weren't lovers, nor would they ever be, but their closeness was something that Walter was a little jealous of. Scully had broken through one of Fox's defensive barriers that Walter didn't even dare try to breach, even after a year. Fox trusted Scully implicitly, whereas Walter still felt that Fox held him at an arm's length most of the time.

One of these day's they would talk about it. Probably about the same time they could be together for a weekend without screwing each other's brains out. In other words, when hell froze over.

To prove the point, no sooner had they returned to their hotel room after the fair, when Fox started flirting outrageously. Walter gave in immediately. Why fight it now, they were on vacation.

They began removing each other's clothing. Hurriedly disrobing when one is wearing casual clothes is a hell of a lot easier than when wearing business attire. Fox had Walter's clothes off in a record 45 seconds. They fell together onto the bed ravenously kissing and hands groping.

Fox kissed Walter's chest rubbing his hair and face over the strong, smooth pectoral muscles before making his way down the stomach, finally taking Walter's heavy penis into his mouth. The older man made a deep sound in the back of his throat signaling his approval. Fox ran his tongue over the head, pausing to dart the tip into the small crevice to taste the pre-cum that gathered there. He then moved his mouth down to encompass the length of Walter's shaft, relaxing his throat to take it all in. He retracted slightly scraping the sides of the shaft with his teeth. Fox repeated this maneuver, enveloping and retracting until Walter's breath had become hurried and a fine sheen of sweat broke out across his face and chest.

Walter's hand reached out to grasp one of Fox's ass cheeks. He kneaded the flesh of Fox's globes as the younger man continued his worshipful sucking. He pulled Fox's legs toward his mouth in the desire to reciprocate the favor. The sixty-nine position was one of Walter's favorites, one that in their hurry to get off, they rarely performed. Fox moaned happily when Walter positioned him above then sucked down his cock. Their mutual enjoyment created a see-saw effect as they moved in tandem.

Unlike the past few days of rushed sex, both men were willing to take their time in this endeavor. They deliberately kept each other from coming for a very long time. But when he'd had enough waiting, Walter decided to up the ante and opened the ever-present tube of lube. He generously applied a warm dollop to Fox's anus, making the younger man squirm above him in anticipation.

Fox stopped his sucking long enough to request that Walter use the plug again. In the past few nights, Fox has become rather enamored of the notched toy Walter had bought for him, repeatedly asking for it and willingly accommodating it's entire length. Skinner agreed and began the stretching that would be needed to apply it. Fox's body had adapted rather quickly though and was able to take it quicker and with less stress. As he slipped the last nodule in, Fox's strokes became more hurried and ragged. Walter knew that the time was near and he stopped sucking Fox.

"I need you in me, Fox," he said hoarsely. Fox quickly moved to get into position. Walter didn't ask to be fucked very often and Fox considered it to be an honored privilege. He made sure that the older man was lubed and stretched and more than ready before he began his impaling. When Fox was fully inside, he paused, waiting for Walter's breathing to become steady again and then pumped slowly. Walter's long arms reached down and grabbed Fox's ass cheeks and brought him in for another thrust.

"Harder Fox, I need it harder!" Walter cried. Fox readily complied by thrusting faster and deeper until he was sunk into Walter to the hilt, his balls slapping the older mans ass as he thrust. He felt every thrust and heartbeat in his own ass where the plug held firm, rubbing the sensitive gland. Fox felt his balls pull tight a split second before he came in long hot bursts. A moment later, Walter came too, his ass convulsing and clamping onto Fox's still firm penis, milking it for what was left.

They lay perfectly still, Fox laying his full weight onto Walter's chest, for a few minutes until the room stopped spinning. He then moved slightly so that his softening cock slipped out. Walter sighed at the abandonment but Fox kissed the sigh away.

"Let's got take a shower, Walter," Fox said pulling his lover into a sitting position. "Then we can fall asleep, OK?" Walter looked ready to sleep anyway but Fox persuaded him that a shower would probably be a wise thing to do.

The warm water almost put both men to sleep, but they quickly removed Fox's plug, then pausing only to rinse and dry off before collapsing onto the bed. Walter curled up under Fox's embrace as the younger man pulled the covers over them and shut off the light.

Fox lay awake listening to Walter's even breathing. First he had asked Fox to fuck him and then he had curled up into his arms to sleep. Walter was being incredibly vulnerable lately and it confused Fox. What was going on in the older man's mind?

So far their relationship had been almost purely physical because Fox thought that was what Walter wanted. The man kept him pushed away most of the time, so Fox hadn't allowed his feeling of deep-seated love to show. He didn't want to scare Walter off. Walter shifted in his arms and whispered Fox's name in his sleep. Fox just held him tighter, closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

***

Scully was past the point of annoyance and concern and was becoming genuinely angry. She had tried everything she knew of to try and find Mulder but came up empty-handed. She had finally broken into his apartment to see what she could find. His apartment yielded nothing of importance until she found an obscure scribbled note written by an unknown hand. All the note said was "Locker 69, SuperMall, Auburn, Washington - near the food court." The note was signed by Frohike. Dana almost shouted in glee - the Lone Gunmen! She would get the information from them, even if it meant pretending to be nice to Frohike. She would use her advantage of the geeky man's crush on her, to her favor. She hummed happily as she left Mulder's apartment for the den of the Lone Gunmen.

Langly and Byers sat off to the side of the room glad for once that they were not the center of Dana Scully's attention. Even though Frohike had fantasized about Scully talking to him for years, she was frightening him right now. The woman was possessed! She was interrogating him about Mulder's whereabouts relentlessly. He tried at first to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about, but the woman was good. She talked him into corners and finally got him to slip that he even knew where Auburn, Washington was. He considered telling her everything, and might have if Langly and Byers weren't there listening in. Mulder would kill him!

Mulder had taken him into his confidence and asked Frohike to do things for him that not even Langly or Byers would guess. Frohike didn't care if his favorite FBI man was gay, it sure as hell explained some of Mulder's more bizarre encounters, but he knew that if word got out, Mulder's reputation would be shit!

Sensing Frohike's unwillingness to talk in front of his cohorts, Scully coolly asked them to leave the room. The other two men nearly ran over each other getting out and Scully had to use every bit of self control she had not to laugh out loud at the ridiculous sight. Once gone, she weaseled the whole story out of Frohike. He was almost in tears as he explained the entire plan Mulder had come up with to be alone with his lover. The only thing he didn't know was the identity of his lover. That part Mulder had refused to tell him, but Dana could only think of one person - Skinner!

Not wanting to show up on their doorstep, Scully told Frohike to get in contact with them and tell Mulder to call her ASAP, it was a matter of life and death. When Frohike agreed, Dana - much to her disgust - gave him a quick peck on the cheek in thanks, and left the man in utter confusion.

***

Walter was in the shower when the knock came at the hotel room door. Fox opened the door to see an obviously nervous young man.

"Uh, Agent Mulder?" his voice cracked, making Mulder wonder exactly how old this guy was. Being called by his name and title made Fox pause. No one besides Frohike knew he was here. Just in case, Mulder decided to play this off.

"Sorry, wrong room," he began to close the door.

"Oh shit," the guy said, "I meant, Mr. Frank Miller. Uh, Frohike sent me." Well that cleared things up. This kid (?) knew Frohike. The guy looked up and down the hall nervously. "Can we go inside?" he asked. Mulder moved aside allowing him to dash inside.

"What's this all about?" Fox asked menacingly. The tone had its affect. The guy began to talk immediately.

"Frohike called me at midnight last night saying he had to get a message to you," the guy said. It appeared that he would have rather been anywhere than at this hotel talking with Mulder. "He said to tell you that the red-headed babe has to talk to you now. She was very insistent. I guess she scared Frohike pretty bad, he called in every favor he's ever had with me to come here and tell you this." Suddenly realizing he was babbling, the guy shut up.

So, Scully wanted to get a hold of him and she had found out that Frohike knew where he was at. Damn! Either Scully was becoming really good at tracking him or he had slipped up somewhere and left a clue. He hoped she hadn't pressed Frohike too much and found out his secret. Dana would kill him for not confiding in her. Fox sighed, thanked the guy for the information and let him go. The kid raced out the door, clearly glad to be out of under the brooding eyes of the FBI agent.

Mulder became aware that Walter was standing behind him wordlessly. His face clouded by a mask of inscrutability. "How much did you hear?" Fox asked.

"Everything," Skinner replied tonelessly. Fox couldn't tell if he was angry or not. Walter was very practiced at not showing his emotions when he didn't want to.

"So much for your elaborate plan."

***

When Mulder finally called her, Scully was suddenly unsure if her course of action had been right. He sounded miserable. But as she told him why she had called, he became excited and the sound of sadness vanished from his voice. They made arrangements to meet at the SeaTac airport and hung up.

***

"Apparently, an unusual 'crop circle' has appeared on a Christmas tree farm outside of Black Diamond. Not too far away from where the SuperMall is." Fox was explaining the case to Skinner who looked unimpressed. "Unlike other crop circles, this one bent down year-old Christmas trees instead of grain, without harming the plants at all. A half-acre of trees were bent down in a circular pattern. The farmer had just been out to the area the day before to prune. He saw no signs of anyone near the location."

"What's more interesting," Fox said, "if anything can be, is that three people were found wandering around the center of the location sometime after the circle was made." Walter waited for him to continue, aware of the growing excitement in Mulder's voice. "These three people were reported missing exactly one year ago from three different locations. One from Missouri, one from LA and one from Spokane, Washington."

"None of them know each other and all have similar stories about a bright light , feelings of helplessness and alien abduction. It also appears that none of them have aged at all in the past year!"

"Sounds like the plot of FX's next Movie of the Week," Walter said sarcastically. He didn't understand Mulder's fascination with these bizarre cases. He could understand the need to find his sister, but what did exploring every nutcase or screwball case that came his way have to do with it. Sometimes he felt that Mulder was just avoiding reality.

"I know you're upset because I'm cutting our vacation short to work on this case, Walter, but I hope you understand how important this is to me," Fox said gently.

"Can't you let it rest for a week?" Walter said, almost pleading with Fox. "Scully is capable of handling the preliminaries."

"It's not that," Fox countered, "I was asked to come on this case by name. Someone recognizes my importance in this."

"Or is setting you up to fall hard," Walter said. He knew the workings of the Consortium too well.

"I know who you're thinking about and it's not him," Fox said, referring to Cancerman. "Frank Black asked for me, remember him Walter?" Yes, Skinner did remember Frank Black, another brilliant profiler who went off the deep end and quit the Bureau. Now he was working with the Millennium group. A group held in respect only slightly higher than the X-Files in the mind of the Bureau. Frank had more respect from his colleagues only due to the many years he had worked diligently and the numbers of killers he had caught. Still he was considered strange. It didn't surprise him that Frank Black had asked for Mulder. Birds of a feather...

'Why are you being such an ass about this,' Walter asked himself. He didn't understanding his own feelings on this matter, so he kept silent. He just had this sudden urge to beg Fox not to pursue this and stay with him. But knowing that Fox would go anyway, he helped him pack and arranged to meet him in the field a few days from now for appearances sake.

Fox kissed him passionately and left for the airport to pick up Scully.

***

Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully sat with Frank Black in the observation room of the Auburn police department listening to the young African-American woman give her story for the third time. Her mid-western accent becoming more pronounced with her frustration.

Kate Hanson, age sixteen had been driving back home to Neosho, Missouri after church choir practice one year ago when her car's engine suddenly died and a bright light filled the sky. From there, her story had all the usual alien abduction pieces to it. She had disappeared without a trace, her car found by state troopers the next day. For one year, no one had seen or heard anything from her. The cops put it down to a teenage runaway but her parents didn't believe it and had started a campaign to find her. Their campaign turned up nothing until she suddenly appeared three days ago on the Christmas tree farm with two other people.

The other two, Jolene McKenny a 41 year old mother from Los Angeles and Pete Smithson, a 33 year old single businessman from Spokane, Washington had similar stories. They too disappeared suddenly on the same day, not to be heard from again until they were found at the farm. All three had stories of lights in the sky and all three swore they had never met each other before.

After they had given their stories, Scully examined each one of them finding unusual things. As she was sharing her findings with Mulder, Frank Black and the local authorities; Assistant Director Skinner arrived looking annoyed. Though no one else noticed, Scully saw the disguised glances pass between Skinner and Mulder. 'Nice touch having Skinner arrive a few days later,' Scully thought.

"According to my findings, Mrs. McKenny shows signs of having given birth only a few weeks ago. Her records indicate that she did in fact give birth to a boy just a little over one year ago. There were complications during the pregnancy and a cesarean had to be performed. She has fresh cesarean scars on her abdomen, with no previous sign of any other scarring." Scully pointed some other findings out to the men gathered around her. Each making noises of disbelief except for Mulder.

"There have been other cases reported where abductees showed up years later showing little or no signs of aging," Mulder said. "Some have reported it to be the effect of traveling at light speed. One of Einstein's theories is that the person traveling at those speeds would not age as rapidly as those on Earth."

"We're not talking about 'Flight of the Navigator' here Agent Mulder," one of the local's said derisively. Skinner rolled his eyes heavenward at the argument he knew would come and caught Scully doing the same thing.

"Well, Detective James," Mulder started, "I'm impressed by the fact you even know the name of the movie. However, what I'm referring to was the case of Loren Hamilton who disappeared when he was seventeen, only to reappear four years later in 1973 not aged a day. Or the case of Bertha Young who disappeared at the age of 94, to reappear almost fifteen years later also apparently unaged. She then lived for another seven years. How do explain those?"

The triumphant gleam in Mulder's eyes suddenly made Skinner unreasonably angry. Mulder seemed to enjoy pushing people to their limits. Sensing the tension in the room between his favorite agent and the rest of the people gathered there, Skinner decided to step in. "That's enough Agent Mulder," he growled harsher than he meant to. "We are not going to jump to conclusions until all the evidence is present."

"What more kind of evidence do you need sir?" Mulder asked brashly. "An alien to jump out of his ship, sit on your chest and explain the whole procedure in layman's terms?" The second he said it, Mulder regretted it. He knew he had crossed a line, but damn it, Walter wasn't giving him a chance! He finally had some hard evidence after all these years and Skinner was dismissing it as if it were garbage.

"I said, that is enough Agent Mulder!" Walter nearly shouted. The room fell completely silent. Mulder glared at Walter once, then turned and left without a sound. Scully excused herself quietly and followed him, leaving Skinner and the other men behind.

***PART THREE***

A million things crowded into Mulder's thoughts as he strode down the hall. How dare Walter dismiss him like that in front of other people! He had worked long and hard to gain the respect of those around him and in one afternoon, his boss, his *lover* ripped it away. Skinner hadn't even appeared to be listening! Couldn't he see what was before his eyes? The evidence was so concrete this time, and so irrefutable. Mulder wanted to scream. Damn he was so close!

He wondered how long Walter had been harboring feelings of doubt about his sanity, or if he had ever believed in Fox at all. How could he, after working with Mulder for almost four years and being his lover for over one, not know where Mulder's convictions lay. How could he not know that the search for truth was the most important thing in the young man's life. Mulder's eyes blurred at the tears of frustration and pain that threatened to fall. Not wanting anyone to see him in his current state of mind, he rudely brushed by everyone in his path and dashed for the door.

Somewhere in the back of his head he was dimly aware that Scully was following him, trying to get his attention. The last person in the world he wanted to see him cry was Dana.

Mulder was out the door, across the parking lot of the police station and driving away in his rented Bronco before Scully's mind had time to register everything that was happening. Without thinking, she got into her own rental car and followed him. If he was upset enough to walk out on a record-setting investigation, she was concerned enough to follow him wherever he went.

As she did her best to follow his reckless trail, she became more concerned. Scully believed that her partner had become really unbalanced lately; whether due to stress or his "relationship", she didn't know. All she knew was that it was her duty as his partner and friend that she keep him from harming himself.

Mulder finally lost his private battle with the tears. He looked for a place to pull over because he couldn't see anymore. He rolled the Bronco into the lot of a park and shut off the engine, unaware that Dana had pulled right up next to him. He leaned his head over the steering wheel and sobbed as if his heart was breaking. He hadn't realized exactly how much Walter's opinion of him had meant. Skinner was so much more to him than a lover or a fuck-buddy. Mulder had to admit to himself that Walter had been fulfilling the role of father, brother and soul mate for the last year as well. The older man's respect and encouragement had become sustenance and to have him scoff at something that Fox held so dear was a wound that cut to his soul.

The tears leaked out all the pain, fear and abandonment that Fox had felt welling up in his life since Samantha was taken. He'd lost his sister, his father and most of those he had held dear. He couldn't lose Walter now, not when he needed him most.

Dana Scully watched her partner cry. Part of her wanted to run to him, throw her arms and him and tell him that everything would be all right. The other part thought that Mulder wouldn't appreciate it, and would probably shut her out. She was forced into inaction over her dilemma so she sat in the car quietly watching him. 'I just want to make sure he won't do something stupid,' she rationalized. 'If he needs me, he'll let me know.'

Fox rested his head against his arms for what seemed like forever after the tears stopped. He didn't feel like moving. He briefly looked at his watch and realized that almost two hours had passed and his head hurt like hell. For all the crying, he didn't feel much better. The pain was still there, only a little muted.

'Damn it,' he scolded himself, 'you're a trained psychologist. You know that you need to talk to someone.' But, he hated to *have* to do anything, especially rely on someone else to point out what he should already know. That's all shrinks ever did was to point out the obvious and let you work it out yourself. He leaned his head back and noticed that Scully was sitting in the car next to him reading a magazine.

He silently thanked the universe that his partner knew him well enough by now to not have interrupted. He was mildly annoyed that she had followed him and also secretly pleased that she cared enough to do so. He made up his mind to join her, although not a psychologist, she was a doctor and a friend.

When he climbed into the car, Scully had to bite her tongue to stop from asking all the questions that she wanted. He would talk when he was ready. She looked at his red-rimmed, puffy eyes and figured he probably had a terrible headache. She silently offered him some pain-relievers and her bottled water, which he took without any coaxing.

"Have you ever been in love, Scully?" he asked. The question startled her. Of all the things she had thought he would say, she hadn't guessed this one. "I mean the kind of love that you feel to your core? The kind of love that becomes your world? Where the person that you love - their opinions and feelings have a direct effect on everything that you do because you care about them so much?"

Dana nodded. Although it hadn't been a lover, she had felt that kind of love for her father and she hoped that she would feel it again someday when the right person entered into her life.

"Do you know how it feels when the person that you love so very much betrays you? Makes light of your beliefs and ideals because they conflict with theirs? Do you know what it's like to see them mock you in front of others? Even though they know how important what you believe in is to your existence?" Knowing that he didn't really want an answer, Dana let him talk.

"It feels like shit!" Mulder's voice cracked and his eyes threatened to spill tears again. Dana watched him fight, his chin trembling. "After all we have been through, doesn't he know by now?" It came out as a whisper, a plea for understanding. Instinctually, Scully reached out for him. He buried his face against her shoulder and let her wrap her arms around him, rocking gently. That sat there silently until Fox was ready to go on.

"I used to feel that people who were deeply religious were neurotic," he said against her shoulder. "Now I know that I've just traded a belief in a God and Heaven for a belief in extra-terrestrials and the paranormal. But damn it Scully, I *know* its real! I've seen too much, experienced too much firsthand, to think it is just a figment of my imagination." She listened as he put into words his personal theology. Although she had suspected it had become his religion, he had never voiced it so openly before.

"It's what keeps me going. My beliefs are what keep me from the edge of insanity. The hope that Samantha is still out there, that the missing keys to solving the puzzle of my life are hidden, it drives me on. I live for it."

He sat up and looked out the window to watch the clouds blow across the fall sky. Scully wondered how long it would be before he admitted that it was Skinner that he kept referring to. Just as she thought it, he proved his aptly named spookiness by asking, "Do you know who I'm so much in love with that it's killing me?" Dana nodded with a playful smile tugging at her mouth.

"How long have you known?"

"Only for about a week," she said. "You both hid it rather well."

"Yeah, well, it was kind of necessary," he said. "Gods help us if anyone around the office, or that black-lunged bastard were to find out!

We'd both be head deep in shit without a career or respect. I'm used to people not respecting me, but it would kill Walter." At the mentioning of his lover's name, Mulder grew silent again. He looked so sad that Dana was afraid he would start crying again.

"Damn you, Mulder," she said, playfully hitting him on the upper chest in an unconscious imitation of Elaine hitting Jerry Seinfeld. "Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner? You kept this from me for how long?"

"A little over a year." He actually smiled at her.

"A year?!" She wanted to shake him. A year of hiding something this important from her. She knew he had his reasons and that they were probably all valid, but it irked her that he hadn't confided in her. "Jeez, Mulder, you really know how to perturb me. What? Did you think I wouldn't understand?"

"Understand which part Scully," he asked, "that I was bi or that it was with Skinner?"

"Either one!" Scully said. "Mulder, you're my partner and hopefully one of my best friends. I've come to care a great deal for you in the past few years and I would accept anything that was a part of your life. Even if you were one of the aliens you are trying so desperately to find!" The image of Mulder suddenly peeling off his skin and revealing that he was an alien sent her into giggles. But, it wouldn't shock her one bit.

He laughed along with her until they were both wiping tears of giddiness from their faces.

"Yes, Scully, you are on of my best friends. Hell, I think you are the *only* best friend I have!" he said taking her face in his hands. "But," he said quite seriously, "I'm not an alien. At least I don't think I am." They both smiled at the joke.

"I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect Walter and you. I figured that if you knew and the word ever got out, then your career would go down the tubes as well. I can't bear the thought of dragging you down with me in anything. I also figured that Walter would be more comfortable if you didn't know. I should have known you would figure it out sooner or later. I can't seem to hide much from you anymore."

"Well, you can just stop trying," she said. "If you do, I'll weasel it out you and then never let you forget it! Got it?" He promised not to hide things from her again.

"So what are you going to do now?" she asked. He didn't want to think about it.

"I don't know," he said miserably. "I need to think about things for a while. I need to examine where our relationship has been and where I want to take it, if it continues. I don't even know if Walter ever wanted things to get more serious than a weekend lover. He certainly hasn't shown me any signs of it. For all I know, I'm just a weekly distraction in his life. Another way to show his authority." A bitter tone crept into Mulder's voice. "Why did he do that?"

"Did you stop to think that maybe you over-reacted a bit Mulder?" Dana asked. She hadn't read everything that Mulder had into Skinner's words.

"No," he said, "I don't think that I over-reacted. We've never talked about much of anything but he knows how strongly I feel in these matters. And to treat me like that in front of people, it was like he slapped me!"

"Maybe he was afraid of what they would think if he agreed with you," Dana offered. "He's been known to disagree strongly with you in public before. Maybe he thought that if he suddenly started to agree with you that his facade would break."

"But Scully, I've never had such hard evidence before." He looked at her and held her gaze. "I admit that in the past I've jumped ahead without the full story, but this time it's so obvious. He didn't even let me finish. He just cut me off and made me look bad, or worse, in front of those men. Hell, most of them I don't care about, but Frank Black is someone who I've worked with before and respect very highly."

"Well, I can't say if what he did was right or wrong Mulder, but he must have felt that what he did was right for the moment. You have to remember that he *is* your boss. At least on the job." She didn't envy Mulder's position right now. She couldn't even imagine what being in love with your boss could be like. May as well just crash through every boundary imaginable because it breached every one she could conceive.

"I can see your logic in this Scully, but I can't forgive him just yet. He hurt me and hurt me deeper than anyone has before," Mulder said. "I've got to think for a while and I don't want to see him until I'm ready to." They watched the clouds together for a while soundlessly.

"I've got to get back Mulder," Scully said. "There is still a lot of work to be done before I fly back to D.C. tomorrow evening."

He agreed to follow her and help gather the rest of the evidence. "Just don't expect any miracles with my attitude quite yet," he said. And though his tone was jovial, Scully knew he solemnly meant every word of it.

***

Skinner sat alone in one of the briefing rooms going over the evidence they had collected before Fox had stormed out. He felt like a jack-ass. He replayed the scene over in his head a million times. Every time seeing where he could have diffused the situation and satisfied all parties without losing Fox. Why had he been so hard on the young man? He didn't have any other answer except for fear.

He felt so transparent to the world when he was around Mulder. He thought that his love for the man could be seen by everyone and it scared him. Everything about Fox scared him these days. He had never felt this way about anyone before, not even Sharon. He had loved her in a way, he wouldn't have married her if he hadn't, but their love had been so shallow compared to his feelings for Fox.

Did Fox feel the same way or was Walter just the physical release in his life? Walter knew that Fox looked to him to act the father out in his life, demanding his attention and craving his approval. Was there more to it than that? He really didn't know. They never talked. He couldn't blame Fox for their lack of communication either. Walter never brought the subject up before, always giving into his own desires when they were together.

He flipped lazily through the photos and testimonials without really looking at any of them. Fox had been right, the evidence was pretty hard to ignore in this case. A sworn statement by three different botanists concluded that the trees had not been trained or forced down by any known human force. They showed no signs of damage whatsoever except for laying down, bent over at the base. The botanists also agreed that the bending had been done within the past week based on what they found when they cut the trees open. So much for the idea that the farmer had tied them down to grow that way, or that pranksters had plowed them over.

The stories of the three people were also found to be as true as they could be. Either they had collaborated for the last year and learned to pass the lie-detector, or they truly believed that what they had recalled was true.

The girl, Kate Hanson, was on her way home to Missouri. Mrs. McKenny was undergoing another battery of tests and Mr. Smithson had agreed to stay in town for a while since his job had given him up for dead a year ago. They were all willing to swear in court their versions of the truth.

Scully found Skinner, staring through a picture of the crop circle. He had the same look of helplessness and despair that Mulder had earlier. 'They really do love each other,' she thought. He looked up when she moved forward, the usual stone mask settling into place almost immediately.

"I don't appreciate being run out on Agent Scully," he said, making her hesitate. 'Great, Walter, there you go again. Why don't you just piss off the world next.' His mouth kept saying things he didn't really mean.

What he really wanted to ask was how Fox was doing, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I'm sorry sir, I was concerned about Agent Mulder's state of mind," she said. "I was afraid he might do something foolish."

"And did he?" Christ, Walter, just ask if he's ok!

"No sir." Relief washed over Skinner and he found that he was trembling slightly. "Sir, I..." Dana started. "Can we go somewhere else to talk. I would prefer not discuss Agent Mulder's condition here." Walter's heart skipped. What did Fox say to her? He almost refused to go, but the look on Scully's face told him that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

***

As Scully and Skinner left the building to talk, Mulder was examining some of the plant and soil samples from the site. He sensed someone standing behind him and turned to find Frank Black watching him.

"So why have you decided to hang around Frank?" Mulder asked. "This isn't your usual type of case."

The older man gazed at him for a long time before answering, "I thought that I may be of service in one way or another." He sat down on the edge of the desk. "Plus, with Catherine and Jordan gone, I don't have a lot to occupy my time." Mulder had heard through the grapevine that Frank's wife had left and taken their daughter with her for safety. These kinds of things got around with the ever-present rumor mill.

"How did you get involved in this in the first place. Crop circles are a far cry from serial killers and psychos."

Frank smiled at Mulder's question. The younger man almost seemed to be trying to push him into a fight; the need to prove himself. He had watched Mulder's career when he worked for the FBI, even worked with him once or twice. He had been a promising agent until his penchant for the paranormal became public. Frank felt a kinship with him. His own abilities to see things others couldn't had set him apart as well.

"I've become the resident expert on weirdness," Frank joked. As the word of his talents got out, he found that he was being called on more and more to unexplained cases, even if they were outside his field. "When I saw this one, I knew it was beyond my scope of expertise. I suggested that they contact you."

"Well, I guess I should thank you," Mulder said sarcastically. "It's become one of the most profound and the most painful cases I've worked on." Without bidding, scenes of Mulder and Skinner's argument mixed with scenes of passion flashed in Frank's mind. His gift normally didn't show itself like this. It wasn't usual to see into another's mind on something so personal. It made Frank wonder about the young agents own hidden talents. Was he projecting these thoughts so loudly that Frank was picking up on them unintentionally?

"I'm sure everything will work out alright," Frank lamely offered, not knowing what else to say. His brief insight into Mulder's mind had exposed his secret and Frank wasn't sure what to make of it. Better to not get involved at all, it wasn't his place.

***

Scully drove to a local restaurant with Skinner, neither speaking on the trip. She wasn't sure of what she would say once they got there either. She didn't know her boss as well as she did her partner and she was afraid that he wouldn't open up at all or tell her it was none of her business. It really wasn't any of her business but she felt the need to get involved.

The two men she cared about, respected and had to work with on a daily basis could not go on in their present course of action without driving her insane. She would get them together and talk if it killed her!

They didn't begin to speak until after the waitress had taken their orders. Scully was privately amused to see how much Skinner's diet differed from Mulder's. How did they ever agree on anything to eat?

"So what was it that you needed to say that couldn't be said at the station Agent Scully?" the AD said gruffly hoping that his rough exterior would hide the vulnerable man inside. He desperately hoped that this discussion had nothing to do with his and Mulder's relationship but had the sinking feeling that was exactly what Scully wanted to talk about.

"Sir, I'm very worried about Mulder." Scully looked at her boss. His face showed no emotion but his eyes were pinpoints and his jaw was set tight. He looked prepared for a fight. "He's, uh, had his faith shaken very badly and he's rather unstable right now." Skinner didn't say anything but continued to look at her. She sighed inwardly. He wasn't going to make this easy at all.

She decided to just get it out in the open. Since she knew about their relationship, she figured the worse he could do is get angry with her. He couldn't openly retaliate without fear of her exposing them.

"OK, I'm going to talk to you as if you weren't my boss. The rest of this conversation is happening between Dana and Walter, not between the Assistant Director and one of his agents. OK?" It wasn't really a question and Walter got the feeling that no matter what his answer may have been, she would continue. He had seen her like this once or twice before. Dana Scully could be a very tenacious woman when she set her mind to it.

"Mulder is torn to shreds right now because he believes that you have taken all of his beliefs and thrown them out the window. He's hurt, he's scared and he's angry." She breathed deep. "He feels that you belittled him in front of others without giving him a chance."

Skinner started to speak but Dana held up her hand.

"Now, he read way more into what you had said earlier than I did, but I have no idea of the extent of your relationship. He admits that his search for his 'truth' has become his religion and being so, he knows that others may have different opinions. But, his personal religion has become his life and it is extremely important to him. He just kept asking why you chose to treat him like that in public." She stopped and watched Skinner. His jaw shifted slightly and like magic, the stone mask crumbled revealing a terrified man.

"Is he ok?" Walter asked in a small voice.

"Besides a bitch of a headache, he's fine physically. It's the emotional side I'm worried about," Dana said.

Walter put his head in his hands. "What have I done?" he asked. "I didn't mean to drive him away. He was just irritating the hell out of me, as usual." Dana knew all too well what he meant. Mulder had a way with annoying people.

"I was angry with him," he continued, "for being so smug, for taunting Detective James, for dragging me out here and for a million other stupid

little reasons. I've wanted to talk to him for so long, just talk. Tell him about the things I've felt, the way I feel now but he keeps me at an arm's length with his anti-trust."

"I'm scared Dana." The name felt strange, he was so used to calling her Agent Scully but he found it easy to talk to her now as Dana. "I'm scared of so many things when it comes to Fox. He opens doors in me that I never thought possible. In the past year I've had to re-examine almost every aspect of my life. Being with him has made me question my sexuality, my career, my priorities and my concept of boundaries. I've blown away every foundation I've known. I'm flying free and it scares me half to death."

He stopped abruptly as their food arrived. Once the coast was clear, he began again to confide in her things that he had thought never to share with another human being besides Fox.

"Increasingly, over the past three months, I've found my thoughts of Fox wandering to more than a lover. I've thought about us moving in together, sharing more than just weekends. Hell, I even found myself looking at rings the other day! I haven't felt this way about another person since Sharon. I don't even think I felt like this with her. My rational mind tells me that it could never work unless one of us gave up everything for the other. The irrational part says to dive in and don't look back. Then I'm torn about wanting to talk to him and just pretending words don't matter. I go into every weekend thinking, maybe we'll talk this time, and end up screwing his brains out all weekend with no more stimulating conversation than what to eat for dinner." He smiled at that, a private joke.

"Dana," Walter said smiling, "as a doctor, you really need to talk to him about his eating habits. I'm afraid he's going to die from junk food poisoning one of these days." They both laughed for a second before Walter grew serious again. "What am I going to do Dana?"

"Talk to him," she replied. "Tell him how you feel. All of it. Your hopes, your fears, your dreams - no matter how trivial or silly they seem to you. Talk to him. And do so often."

"If you want your relationship to continue, you have to do this. You also have to set boundaries Walter. Mulder needs to know that at work, you are his boss. He needs to respect this." She shook her head. "I don't envy your position at all. You've chosen a very difficult path but it can be tread. You just need to make your needs known to him. Love is a two way street. Both of you have to work at it."

"Are you sure you didn't miss your true career as a relationship counselor?" Walter said.

"Oh, I talk a good game," she smiled "but do you see me in a relationship?" He looked at this woman in front of him with a new respect. Mulder had a great partner and a wonderful friend in her.

They ate and talked about other things as friends for a while before Walter said, "I need some time to get my head on straight before I talk to him." She nodded in agreement. "I want to make sure I have a clear vision of what I want, and what is important to me, to us, in a relationship."

"That's all anyone can ask," she said. "We better go, I think they want to close." Sure enough, the place was empty and the nightly clean-up had begun.

***

Skinner's flight back to D.C. wasn't until the next day so he decided to tour downtown Seattle for a while. He rarely went out and about, and found the experience rather soothing. Something about being in a large crowd and completely ignored calmed his nerves. He wandered aimlessly around the myriad of shops on the main streets and the booths at the Pike Place Market not really looking at or for anything. When he tired of walking, he would sit and watch people and listen to the snippets of conversation floating around him. But no matter what he did, he found his thoughts turning back to the dark-haired, handsome young man who captured his heart.

'I can't lose him,' he thought. 'I love him too much.'

He walked on, focusing on what he would say to Fox when he saw him next when a flash of silver caught his eye and he turned to look. He stood in front of an ordinary jewelry booth filled with gold and silver trinkets. Most of them were the usual stamped, mass-produced pieces that adorned the necks of new-agers and youth, but one piece behind glass made him pause. It was a finely detailed silver alien head with a dark stone shaped into eyes. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. Although he personally didn't believe in the popular vision of extra-terrestrials, it was beautiful.

"Would you like to see it up close?" the girl behind the counter asked. Walter nodded and soon held the pendant in his hand.

"It's a one of a kind," she stated. "I only made one. The eyes are carved hematite and the head is pure silver. I don't really believe in aliens myself but I couldn't get the design out of my head until I finished making it." Walter didn't say anything. He took his credit card out and handed it to her, not caring how much it cost. She suggested a chain to put it on and Walter watched as she strung and carefully wrapped it in a black velvet box.

"I've had it here for almost a year, knowing that someday, the right person would come along and buy it," the girl said. Walter smiled and gingerly took the prize, putting it in his coat pocket. He thanked her and began to walk away. "I'm sure he'll love it," she said. Walter turned to her in amazement.

"How did..." he started.

"Oh that," she smiled. "You didn't balk at the *very* masculine chain I put it on." He smiled back at her perception and walked on whistling happily.

***PART FOUR***

Frohike thought that he was going to die when Agent Scully showed back up at the cave of the Lone Gunmen for the second time in a week. He considered himself to be the most fortunate man alive to be graced with her presence again. She didn't appear to be as upset this time, but Langly and Byers weren't too sure, remembering the last time she had shown up.

"Don't worry guys," she said trying to relieve their fears. "I'm only here to ask a favor of your friend." She handed a list to Frohike and let him read it.

"Can you do it?" she asked.

He nodded, "No problemo."

***

With the exception of their debriefing of the latest case, Skinner had not seen or heard from Fox since they arrived back in D.C. It had been three days and he was beginning to seriously wonder if Fox would give him the chance to apologize. Scully had assured him that he would get a chance, but that Mulder was still getting himself together.

Some of his fears were relieved when he received a cryptic note. It read, "Need to talk, Friday 8:00 pm." The note gave an address, instructions to bring an overnight bag and was signed only with "F". Friday night. Only one more day to go.

***

Fox looked at the note in his hand. "Need to talk, Friday 8:00 pm. Old machine shop - 5715 Harrison, Old Town. Bring an overnight bag, W."

'Well, Walter was ready to talk. Good,' he thought. They needed to. Fox had a lot on his mind. He'd be there.

***

Both men shared their notes with Scully, neither one knowing it was her arrangement. She was intensely pleased that they both planned to go through with it. She hadn't planned for anything else.

***

Walter showed up to the abandoned shop five minutes early and debated whether to wait or not. He didn't see any other cars around but Fox was notoriously late to everything. He gathered his wits about him and bravely walked up to the building. A note on the door said to come in and he did so. He immediately saw another note instructing him further in. Another note waited. Puzzled, he began to follow the trail of notes until he turned a corner into a larger area. What he saw took his breath away.

The room opened up to show a table bedecked with a romantic candlelight dinner and wine. Beyond, in the shadows, Walter could make out the shape of a draped bed. It appeared that Fox had talked someone out of their posh warehouse loft for the evening. He looked around for his lover but still didn't see him anywhere.

Another note on the table simply instructed him to wait, so he did. At 8:07, Mulder appeared. Walter didn't know if he should stand and greet him or not. He was so unsure of himself.

"Feeling a little romantic Walter?" Fox said. He couldn't believe his eyes. The setup was elaborate and very detailed. Fox had never realized that Walter was a romantic.

"Well the atmosphere sets the tone." Walter responded oddly. Fox was acting strangely.

"Who did you bribe this place out of?" Fox asked. Whoever it was must have owed him big.

Walter gave Fox a bizarre look and said, "I thought *you* knew."

"No, why would I..." Fox stopped. They looked at each other as they both drew the same conclusion. "Scully," they said in unison and laughed. Walter was going to have to watch out for that woman. She was trickier than he thought.

"Fox," the seriousness in Walter's voice caught Fox's attention, "I'm sorry. I was an ass to you the other day."

"No, you weren't being an ass, Walter," Fox disagreed. "You were being my boss. As is your job. *I* was the one who was being an ass."

He took a step towards Walter and hesitated. He wanted to through himself into his arms but was uncertain if it was the right step. Walter followed through though by walking across the room and holding out his arms. The fell into one another's embrace and silently held on. Their lips met and Fox drew Walter into a deep kiss.

After a moment, Walter broke away. "No Fox, we need to talk first." Fox agreed.

"There have been a lot of things I've been meaning to tell you for a very long time." Walter paused gathering his courage and resolve about him. "Fox, I love you. My love for you goes beyond the physical. It goes beyond anything I've ever experienced before and it scares me."

He proceeded to tell him what Scully had suggested - everything he could think of. Some of it embarrassed him and some empowered him.

Mulder listened to everything solemnly. Walter really did love him. His fears of being a sexual distraction were eliminated. When Walter apologized for seemingly trivializing Mulder's beliefs, Fox almost started crying again.

"Fox, I know how much your faith means to you. I respect your ideas even if I don't fully understand them. But please understand, not all of it is as real to me as it is to you. I want to believe, I really do, but I find doubt creeping in sometimes. I don't know if it's fear of the unknown, fear of looking silly or what. My overly rational training kicks in sometimes before I have a chance to think about things."

"What I did the other day was inexcusable - regardless if what you said had been right or wrong. I dismissed what you said and chastised you in public without thinking and worse than that, I pulled rank to do so. If I had been thinking, I would have probably still asked you to stop, but I would have done so in a different manner."

"Walter," Fox said. "Stop apologizing about it. I deserved it. I just mistook what you had said for something different. Something that we should have talked about months ago. I was angry because you couldn't read my mind, and that is hardly fair of me." He shrugged and smiled. "I expect way too much out of people. I expect that everyone knows how I feel all of the time. When they don't, I can't understand why."

"Most people are like open books to me. I see how they feel by watching their body language and listening to the tones behind their words. It's what made psychology so easy for me. And since this talent is so natural to me, I assume that other people have the same ability." Walter took Fox's hands into his own.

"I can't read your mind Fox. You're going to have to tell me if I've hurt your feelings." Fox smiled in agreement. "I know how important the search for your sister has become. I want to support you in that search as much as I can, but there are going to be times that I disagree with you. There are going to be very difficult times when I will have to ask you to follow orders on the job. I need to know that you will trust my judgement in those times or at least respect it. I'm not expecting you to blindly follow everything I say, but at work, I do expect that you will keep in mind that I am your superior and must act accordingly."

"As much as the rebel child in my blood hates to say it Walter, I promise to behave," Fox said. "I'll probably still be a pain in the ass on a regular basis though."

"I would be surprised if you weren't," Walter said gruffly. He pulled Fox into an embrace. Fox leaned into him and brushed up against the black velvet box in his coat pocket. Walter had actually forgotten it was there.

"Why, Walter," Fox teased, "is that a box in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Walter drew the box out and handed it to Fox sheepishly. Fox opened the box and shut it immediately. He looked up Walter questioningly.

"Open it Fox," he said.

Mulder reopened the box and withdrew the pendant. His face lit up as he dangled it in front of his face. In the simple silver shape lay the embodiment of Walter's love and trust. He placed it around his neck.

"But I didn't get you anything in return," Fox said. If only he had known.

"Yes, you did," Walter said, pulling him into a kiss. "You came back." They looked into one another's eyes, searching and finding love reflecting back. Walter wrapped his arms around Fox, pulling him so close that Fox was glad he wasn't claustrophobic.

"I want to be with you for more than weekends Fox. I don't know how we'll do it, or if its even possible, but I want you with me. You're more than a weekend lover. I'd like you to become a more permanent fixture in my life." He felt Fox stiffen in his arms and thought that maybe he had moved to fast.

Fox pulled away and stared at Walter. "Are you asking me to marry you?" he asked. It was all happening so fast. Fox searched his mind for the arguments for and against Walter's proposal and found that the pluses were wonderful but that the minuses would destroy them both. He wished fervently that society accepted same sex couples and that what Walter proposed were truly possible without horrible consequences.

"In my version of a perfect world, yes," Walter admitted. "But, here it is impossible. So instead of calling it marriage, I'm proposing a contract of sorts, which after all, is what marriage really is when you boil it all down."

"What kind of a contract?" Mulder asked suspiciously. He had read about contracts in his porn collection. The look on Walter's face made Fox aware that he was becoming too paranoid for his own good again.

"You've really got to quit reading all that trash Fox. The ideas it puts in your head!" Walter did his best to sound very much like a Jewish mother and succeeded. The effect had both men laughing. "Great," he said, "now you have *me* doing bad impersonations."

"Are you saying my impersonations are bad?" Fox asked. Walter shrugged innocently. "Well, at least I haven't done any singing around you. Scully gets homicidal when I sing around her."

"Speaking of Scully," Walter said, "don't you think we should at least attempt to eat this wonderful food she set up for us?"

Fox screwed up his face and said, "but it all looks so *healthy*! She knows I don't eat this junk."

"Well, you'll just have to learn how," Walter said tossing a grape at him which Fox caught deftly in his hand, "or I'll be forced to feed you myself." The purely evil grin that spread across Skinner's face enforced the words. Fox sat down swiftly and started grabbing for food. The thought of Walter force feeding him was intriguing but knowing his lover, it would turn probably turn into excruciatingly pleasureful sexual torture. When he was feeling a little more adventurous, he would have to keep the threat in mind. Right now though, he was content to let the evening progress slowly and romantically.

They ate and continued to talk, both setting their personal and public boundaries. Walter stressed that what he had to say at work was not always how he felt, but for their sake and the sake of the infernal game they found themselves in he had to say it. Fox promised not to fly off the handle so often, and at Walter's insistence, to show up for meetings on time. When the foundation of their contract together had finally taken form, Walter took Fox to bed.

They lay together exploring each other's bodies unhurriedly; their loving research overshadowing their need for physical passion. They touched each other as strangers would, finding every bump, crease and scar and kissing them. Finally, when they could stand it no longer, Fox climbed on top of Walter and gently lowered himself onto Walter's hardened penis. He arched his back and closed his eyes as Walter's hands grasped his hips, slowly driving into him. They moved together in waves with a deliberate pace, feeling every stroke to it's fullest.

Walter's hands moved upwards to run over Fox's smooth chest, pausing only to brush his nipples. Walter moved his thumbs around Fox's nipples in a circular motion to make them stand up. The younger man moaned every time the buttons were touched and whimpered when Walter moved his hands elsewhere. Walter's hands continued their leisurely assault on Fox's body by migrating down to his cock.

He took the heavy organ between his palms and began to double handedly pump. Fox hissed in pleasure and moved with him. Soon all pretense of slow love were gone as the men moved faster, mutually driving their pleasure. Fox leaned back placing his palms on the bed to steady himself as they both came with a triumphant cry. His seed shooting out in hot spurts over Walter's chest as his lover's seed pumped into him. 

They fell to their sides, still locked in their embrace, gasping for air. Walter withdrew from Fox gently. They lay watching each other and tracing the outlines of their jaws.

"I love you Walter," Fox said looking directly into the older man's eyes. Walter realized that it was the first time he actually said it aloud to him. His actions had shown love, but he had never voiced it until now. Tears sprang to his eyes as he gazed at the younger man.

There are times in your life when you feel that everything is right. That the universe has allowed all the correct pieces of the puzzle to fall into place and give you balance. Walter truly believed that this moment was one of those rare occurrences.

"I love you too, Fox," he said. A single tear rolled down his cheek, not out of sadness, but in utter joy. Fox leaned over and kissed the tear. He then happily nuzzled under Walter's chin.

"Hold me, Walter," Fox said against his chest, "Hold me and don't let me go."

"I don't plan to ever let you go, my love."

***

Dana Scully walked into the J. Edgar Hoover building at 7:45 am on Monday morning. She was honestly shocked to see a smiling Mulder waiting for her outside of their basement office. He was never early. There were many nights he stayed until very late, but he wasn't a morning person. To see him here before 8:00, and smiling, made her wary.

"Good morning, Scully," he said cheerfully. Either he was setting her up for the kill, or he was genuinely happy. 'Mulder being truly happy should be listed as an X-File itself,' Dana thought wryly. It was such a rarity.

She nodded to him, walked into the office and stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting on her chair was the largest, most beautiful bouquet of pink roses she had ever seen. She looked at Mulder who just smiled and shrugged.

She reached for the card with her name on it and noticed that a single glass rose was delicately placed in the middle of the bouquet. She glanced questioningly back at Mulder. He just nodded at her in encouragement. She picked up the glass rose, examined it in the light for a moment before placing it gingerly on the table. She then opened the card.

It read, "Thanks for the friendship, the advice and the arrangement. I still think you missed you calling though. Your friend, W." Scully's eyes went wide. The roses were from Skinner.

"The bouquet is from a mutual friend, the glass rose is from me," Mulder said confirming her guess. "Thanks for what you did." He held his arms open and she accepted the invitation. They hugged for a long time as good friends do.

"Now come on," Mulder said, "we can't be late for our meeting with the AD. He's a real monster when we're late." His eyes twinkled playfully. Scully had to wonder about everything that had gone on between the two men over the weekend. How she would have loved to been a bug on the wall.

"But Mulder, I thought you enjoyed being late to our meetings."

"Well I did, but I made a promise that my attitude would be adjusted. And it has been," Mulder said. "Repeatedly." Impish humor danced on his face.

They walked down the hall, Scully shaking her head at Mulder's sick humor and Mulder bouncing along beside her, cracking jokes. Things were back to normal, as much as they ever could be called normal, with the agents of the X-Files.

Epilogue

"I have the tape of the machine shop apartment you requested," the disheveled man said, holding it out to another man in a ill-fitting suit.

"Does anyone else know about this?" the suited man asked.

"No, I kept everything to myself, like you requested. No other copies have been made and no one else knows anything of what I've done."

"Good," the man in the suit said, "I would hate to see a man of your talents get into trouble." He took the unmarked video tape and placed it in his jacket pocket. "Your payment will be delivered as arranged." The other man nodded and walked away. A pity the man was so trusting. He would be dead before he got out of the parking lot. The suited man could not afford anyone knowing what was on this tape. Its contents were for his use alone.

He turned away. Pulling a package of Morley's from his pocket, he took one and lit it. The first puff was always the best. He fingered the video as he exhaled a stream of smoke and debated on what to do with it. What to do indeed, that was the dilemma.

***The End***

PS - did you really think I would end it like that without the promise of a sequel? OK, the sequel is in the works and is almost finished. Join us next week for the continuing story of Fox and Hound. Hee hee hee.

e-mail: with input - flamers not welcome!

 

* * *

 

****WARNING! This is SLASH! Explicit sex scenes between two men included! If this sort of thing bothers you, or if you are under age - go away and don't read it!******  
**Another Warning - this is purely fantasy - and being such, uses no common sense such as safe sex. This fantasy world assumes that there are no such thing as STD's or other things common to unprotected sex between people. Don't try this at home without proper protection!**  
*Fox Mulder, Walter Skinner, Dana Scully, Cancerman (CSM), the Lone Gunmen, and the X-Files etc. are property of Chris Carter and 1013. They are being used without permission, but since I am not making any money off of this -don't sue me. This is fan fiction only!*  
Authors Note - This story takes place approximately six weeks after the first one. Sometime between that story and this one, "Shall We Dance" took place. Also, as with the first one "Gethsemane" never happened. (and in my mind, it never will, sniff sniff.) There are a few derogatory remarks made about a certain software company monopoly - these remarks are not necessarily the views of the author, but just my imaginings of what the Lone Gunmen would think of said software company.  
Slash NC-17 M/Sk  
Summary: Sequel to "I Want to Believe" - Mulder and Skinner are blackmailed about their relationship and devise a way to fight back.

* * *

I Want to Believe II  
by SpookyBear

Saturday Morning  
Crystal City Apartment

He could tell that he'd overslept by the amount of sunshine peeking through the curtains. It didn't matter too much though, it was Saturday.

Walter found that he didn't want to move; he was too comfortable spooned up against Fox's sleeping form, their bodies melded together. He lazily traced patterns on his lover's skin relishing the feel of it. How a man's body could be so masculine and yet so soft and yielding at the same time, he didn't know, but he liked it.

He snuggled in tighter, putting a hand over Fox's stomach. He felt so happy and content. Thinking about all the talking and planning they had done together over the past few weeks just made him happier. No longer was he afraid that Fox wanted him only for sex. He knew now that the love he had for the younger man was mutual. They were a team now; married, as much as they could be.

Walter moved his hand up over Fox's body to play with the necklace he had given him. Fox hadn't taken it off since the night at the machine shop loft. Walter had worried that he wouldn't like it but his fears were relieved when he saw the look on Fox's face. He had caught him reaching up to touch it under his clothes several times; touching it as if it were a talisman of some sorts. Fox admitted that it made him feel better when he was in the field to know he had a piece of Walter's love tied around his neck. The sentiment made Walter blush. Since when had he become such a hopeless romantic?

Fox stirred at his lover's touch and rolled into his embrace, burying his face against Walter's chest. He sighed and relaxed again like a sleeping child does. His face looked like a cross between a child's and an angel's as he slept. 'Looking at him now, no one would guess he's such a pain sometimes,' Walter thought. The thought wasn't fair though. Fox could be a pain, but he was also the best thing that had happened in Walter's life.

He reflected on the past year, and though it was some of the most frightening experiences he had encountered, he had never felt so alive as he did now. The one thing that bothered him most was that it took about half of his life to find what really mattered to him. He had thought that Sharon was the one true love in his life, but looking back, he realized that he was in love with the idea of being in love. He had tolerated her presence in his life because he thought that it had been the right thing to do. He wondered where he would be right now if he had made different choices when he was younger.

The telephone jangled him out of his memories. Who the hell is calling on a Saturday morning? Fox snarled at the sound and turned to bury his head under a nearby pillow. He was so grumpy in the mornings.

Walter grabbed the phone. "Hello," he growled into the receiver. If they were bold enough to call on a Saturday morning, they could deal with his growling.

No one answered. He heard them breathing on the other end for a second or two before they hung up. 'Great,' he thought, 'now I'm getting obscene phone calls.'

***

Saturday Morning  
Den of the Lone Gunmen

Frohike slammed the phone down the second he realized who answered. He had tried this number on a whim. He had been tracing Mulder's calls for some time just because he was being nosy and wanted to find out who his lover was. The number he had dialed was one that he noticed Mulder called on a regular basis when he was out in the field. Frohike had no idea who it belonged to, he hadn't looked it up.

He did recognize the voice that answered. It was Walter Skinner. He quickly ran the number through the hacked phone company records to confirm his findings. Damn, Mulder was involved with the AD. No wonder he was being so secretive.

Frohike worried about his favorite g-man. If he was able to trace his calls, so could those who were set on destroying him. He'd have to teach Mulder some more secrets on how to do things anonymously.

"Whatch doin' dude?" Langly asked. "You look like you were bitten or something."

Before Frohike could answer with a lie, their phone rang. For a moment, he worried that Mulder had traced his call back to him. He panicked briefly before remembering that he couldn't, even with *69, they had too many security filters in place.

Langly put the filters on the phone and answered. Whoever was speaking on the other end made him hand the phone to Frohike. He did so with an odd expression.

"Yeah?" Frohike said.

"No names," the voice said. "If you know who this is, say yes."

"Yes."

"This is just to inform you that your acquaintance with the loft was terminated. Be careful." With that, the connection ended. Frohike sat too stunned to say anything.

His buddy, known only as Daffy, had been the one to loan him the use of the machine shop loft so that Mulder and his lover could have an evening together. The only other person who knew about it was Scully. He didn't know why Daffy had been terminated, he was a low grade hacker who only did grunt work for the Gunmen on a rare occasion. He vowed to find out who had done this and why.

***

Saturday Morning  
Crystal City apartments

Mulder gave up all pretense of sleeping after Walter hung up the phone. He might be awake, but it didn't mean that he was going to get out of bed. Walter didn't appear to be moving to get up either.

Mulder grinned and reached his hand down low on Walter's leg. The effect was immediate. Walter took a deep breath and rolled over to kiss him. Sex in the mornings was the older man's favorite time.

Walter pulled Fox on top of him allowing him to straddle his stomach while they kissed. His penis grew hard as Fox's buttocks slid across it.

"Good...morning...Walter," Fox said between kisses. He moved down to suckle Walter's nipples, causing the older man to gasp. They were so sensitive these days, thanks to Fox's attentions. He kissed and licked them, pausing occasionally to nibble them. All the while he was sliding his body back and forth, rubbing Walter's cock against his own in long strokes. 

Walter's hands were running up and down Fox's back and into his hair. He loved the silky feel against his skin. He grabbed two handfuls of the hair and pushed Fox's head down lower. 

Without any more encouragement, Fox moved lower to take Walter's cock into his mouth. He played with the head in his mouth while his hand worked the rest of the shaft, his tongue circling the purpled flesh. He moved his tongue up and down the shaft without taking it fully into his mouth. Walter moaned at every stroke.

Fox moved again to take his lover's balls into his mouth, first one, then both. He sucked them, gently tugging at the sac until Walter was moaning loudly. Lapping his tongue around them, he continued to stroke Walter's hardened penis. The extreme need didn't take long to build up in the older man, he was gasping within minutes.

"Fox," Walter panted, "now." he had been asking Fox to take him more and more since their fateful vacation. It didn't worry Fox anymore. He understood that they were equals now, lovers who respected and cared about pleasing each other. Anyway, he rather enjoyed plunging deep into Walter and watching from above.

He moved into position as Walter handed him the tube of Astroglide. Once Walter was ready, Fox pushed into him with deliberate slowness. He moved in and out by undulating his hips in a rhythmic fashion, then he moved Walter's legs up onto his shoulders so that he could thrust deeper and intensify both of their pleasure.

As he moved against him, he could feel Walter's cock rubbing on his stomach, the head bouncing along the ripples of his muscles. Walter's face was strained with intense pleasure. Fox decided to increase the enjoyment by pumping his lover's cock with his hand. He matched the rhythms of the two actions for maximum effect but he made them excruciatingly slow. He didn't want either one of them to come too soon. They had all day to play.

Slowing down had an interesting effect on Walter. He began moaning very loudly, the pleasure was almost to much to bear. Every time Fox pushed into him, the head of his cock would rub Walter's prostate slowly at first and then slide by in a rush. It was enough to make even a monk go insane with erotic cravings. Fox loved to hear the older man moan, he was privately cataloging all of his lover's happy noises. So far he had counted almost sixteen of them. For a man who usually seemed so expressionless, Walter certainly emoted loudly in bed. Fox wondered what the neighbors thought. The walls were thick, but not so thick that all noise was cut off.

As he pumped, Fox looked at his lover's face. Walter's eyes were closed and he was only breathing about once every other thrust. Fox knew that this meant that he was close to coming and concentrating on not doing so quite yet. They both enjoyed dragging it out for as long as possible. This time though, Fox wanted Walter's eyes to be open. He found that when they looked into each other's eyes during sex, it was possible to see into the deepest corners of Walter's mind. He could always tell if something was bothering him by looking in his eyes. Fox's little practice had helped ward off several arguments by getting things out in the open before they became a problem. 'How's that for using psychology for practical purposes,' he thought. 'During sex even.'

"Open your eyes Walter," he whispered. Walter looked up at him and their eyes locked gazes together. Fox continued his double pumping, all the while holding Walter's gaze. There was nothing to hide in either man's gaze. The only time the gaze was ever broken was when one of them blinked, and then it was only for a fraction of a second. 

Fox knew Walter was going to come when the older man grasped at his hips suddenly. Fox willed himself to come also, to climax together was a wonderful thing. So far, in their year plus relationship, they had only managed to do it twice. 'But,' Fox thought, 'practice does make perfect.'

Both men cried out together and Fox felt himself drain into Walter as the older man's semen flew over his hands and across his belly. 'Make that three times,' was all Fox could manage to think for about five minutes. He collapsed onto Walter's chest in an effort to ground out; his head spinning as it always did after climax.

When he regained his balance, he let Walter's legs down gently, knowing that the older man's calf muscles had a tendency to cramp after long bouts of sex.

Walter sighed when he was able to straighten his back out and stretch his legs. He pulled Fox to him, not caring if they were both sticky and sweaty, he wanted to hold him close. They dozed off in each other's arms, oblivious to the time of day.

***

Saturday Afternoon  
Cineplex Odeon Theaters

The movie ended with cheers from the predominantly gay and lesbian audience. Walter's sides hurt from laughing so much and Fox's eyes were bright with tears of laughter. Walter had been resistant to the idea of seeing a movie about gay themes, but afterwards, he was glad that Fox had prodded him into it. "In and Out" had been a very funny and heartwarming movie.

In order to see it in a safe place, Walter had insisted that they see it anywhere but in D.C. The chances of running into someone they knew or recognized was too great in the Capitol City. They had seen an afternoon matinee and now found themselves with most of a Saturday evening with nothing to do.

"Let's go dancing," Mulder said. "You promised to take me dancing somewhere where I didn't have to wear a dress." His tone was almost wheedling but his attitude was playful.

"Yeah, I did," Walter said hesitantly. He liked dancing but wasn't too sure about where to go and about what kind of music would be playing if they found a suitable place. "I'm not really into disco or that kind of crap."

"Well, I don't think that there are too many ballrooms around anymore," Fox quipped. "Anyway, I'd rather go someplace that's not so damned formal." They drove around aimlessly, while Fox checked the little "gay guide" he'd picked up somewhere. He read the choices aloud and watched Walter grimace at the names and descriptions. He seemed bent on choosing the most outlandish places he could find.

"Gee, Walter, what about the Eagle?" Mulder the Imp had resurfaced.

"No. No. And furthermore, No," Walter said vehemently. That would be the worst possible place to get caught in, a D.C. gay leather bar. Walter could see the imaginary headlines now: FBI A.D. AND GAY LOVER FOUND AT LEATHER BAR. Sheesh, they'd carry the story in the Post and the Blade.

"No sense of adventure," Fox sniffed. He was joking, or so Walter hoped. They tossed around a few more names before settling on getting drinks at a quiet bar instead of dancing. Fox was mildly disappointed but he was willing to wait until they were able to plan things better. 

They sat, talked and drank the night away having eyes for no one but each other much to the disappointment of several other bar patrons. Neither one noticed though; the world belonged to them alone that night.

***

Sunday Afternoon  
Machine Shop Loft

"Dude," Langly said in the loft apartment, "this is too creepy. I don't like the idea of searching around a dead guys place. It gives me the creeps."

"Just shut up and look. This is important, OK?" Frohike had to find out why Daffy had been killed, and why it concerned an informant who did nothing else but keep an eye on the Smoking Man.

They searched the apartment, not knowing exactly what they were looking for. Frohike began to become really frustrated after a few hours. He sat on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. Langly wandered around a little more, wishing aloud that Byers were there to help them. He paced back and forth in front of Frohike.

Frohike looked up at him in disgust and annoyance. He didn't need to hear Langly's stupid babbling right now, he needed to think. As he looked up, he saw something that he had overlooked all day: a large mirror on the other side of the room. He got up and walked over to it, ignoring Langly altogether. On his way, he picked up a statuette. He hurled it at the mirror, startling Langly.

When the glass fragments finished falling, Frohike had found what he was looking for. Behind the frame of the two way glass, an elaborate video recording system was set up. Five cameras were positioned to cover almost every area of the apartment. 'Daffy was one sick puppy,' he thought. The only reason Frohike could think of for the equipment was to tape people in bed.

Taping people in bed. Daffy killed. Mulder and his lover in the apartment. The call from his informant. Frohike suddenly yelled, "That's it!" Langly looked at him like he was crazy.

"What? What's it?"

"Uh, I can't tell you now. I gotta get a hold of Mulder." With that he headed out the door, Langly was right on his heels.

Frohike's attempts to find the agent were unsuccessful. He couldn't call him at Skinner's house without explaining how he knew how to find him. He decided to just leave a message at Mulder's apartment and hope that the agent came home sometime during the weekend or at least checked his messages.

***

Monday Morning  
J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington D.C.

AD Skinner was very angered to find the Cigarette Smoking Man waiting outside his door on Monday morning. It spoiled his good mood from the weekend, immediately. He had come into the office early as usual to get his thoughts ordered before the rush of the day set in.

"What do you want?" Skinner asked. He didn't ever want to talk to the man let alone have to deal with him first thing in the morning.

"I think it might be best if we waited to discuss that until we are in your office. Don't you agree?" the man said blowing out the smoke from his ever present cigarette. Skinner unlocked the door and sarcastically showed him the way in.

"What is it," Skinner growled again after the door was shut and locked. The man said nothing. He only tossed a paper bag onto Skinner's desk. A sense of dread crept over Walter. He didn't want to pick it up. He wasn't psychic but he guessed that the package had something to do with Fox.

"Open it Mr. Skinner," the man said. "I'm sure you'll find it very interesting and important."

Walter slowly peeled back the paper to reveal a video tape. The cover was Disney's "The Fox and the Hound." Despite the innocent cover, Walter knew that the case didn't hold the animated film.

"What is this? Some kind of joke?" He had to fight to keep his voice from shaking. A feeling of nausea began in his stomach. This couldn't be happening right now. Soon he would wake up and find it had all been a sick dream.

"No. No joke whatsoever Mr. Skinner," the smoking man said. He sat in one of the chairs facing Walter's desk and tapped his ashes onto the floor, ignoring the ashtray. "I believe that you may know what is on that tape. Hmm?"

"You tell me," Skinner spat. He wasn't about to fall into any traps the devious bastard had set in case he was bluffing. The man didn't reply, he just motioned for Skinner to put it in the VCR and play it. Walter just stared at him. He wasn't going to do it. If the bastard wanted to play games with him, he'd have to start it. Walter didn't have the nerve at the moment.

"Very well Mr. Skinner. This tape contains evidence of you and a certain individual engaged in, what should we call it, immoral behavior?" Walter showed no emotion whatsoever. He used his best poker face. His mind was racing though. If he really had evidence of he and Fox together, they were dead men.

"This evidence is damning, not only because the individual in question is one of your subordinates, but also a man."

Skinner still didn't say anything. 'Spit it out you bastard,' he thought. 'Tell me what you want in return for silence and get it over with.'

The Cigarette Smoking Man took his silence for unbelief. He started the tape. Skinner watched as he fast forwarded it. He recognized the location immediately. It was the machine shop loft that he and Fox had spent an evening at after their interrupted vacation. He continued to watch in horror as the video replayed the evening of their lovemaking.

When he could stand it no longer, he hit the stop button and ejected the tape. He flipped open the flap that protected the tape and began ripping it out of the cassette.

"That won't do you much good Mr. Skinner, I do have a copy in a safe place." Skinner just glared at him and continued destroying the tape in his hands.

"What the fuck do you want, you bastard!" he hissed when he had completed his task.

"The same thing that I've always wanted Mr. Skinner," the man said. "I want Mr. Mulder to stop interfering in places where he is not welcome. So far, your cooperation in this matter has been very lax and now I know the reason why."

"Now I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the severe consequences and repercussions this tape would create if it were made public. Why don't you just agree to do what I ask? In return, I will make sure that no one besides myself ever finds out about your, uh, persuasion."

"How the hell do I know that the entire Consortium doesn't already have this?" Skinner asked. He prayed they didn't.

"I suppose that you'll just have to trust me on that Mr. Skinner," the man patronized. He hadn't shared any of this with his cronies, but Skinner wouldn't or couldn't know that. The AD had no clue about the vicious in-fighting the group was infested with these days. The man had his own reasons for keeping this information secret. It would be just as detrimental to him if it leaked out. He would have to answer very uncomfortable questions, ones that he never wanted to have to answer.

He got up to leave. "The first thing that I want delivered to me is any and all evidence regarding the unusual formation of Christmas trees that Mr. Mulder stumbled upon in Washington State. That situation has become a matter of National Security. You will see to it that I have the documents, pictures and negatives by Wednesday. We will discuss the rest of the agreement after that." With that, he left the room.

Skinner got up and shut the door behind him and locked it again. He sat back down in his chair, feeling very old. He turned his back to the door and stared at the wall. In a fit or rage, he hurled the torn-out video husk against the wall and then allowed the silent tears to move down his face. 'Dear god,' he thought, 'what have I allowed to happen?'

He'd allowed himself and Fox to get caught by the one man who could do the most damage to the both of them. Then he'd sold his soul to the smoking demon in exchange for a silence he couldn't guarantee. He let the tears continue not caring if anyone saw them later. It just didn't matter anymore.

***

Kim saw her boss walk out of his office door sometime after 10:00 a.m. He had been holed up in there all morning, not accepting calls or visitors. When he stepped out, she thought she knew why. His face was ashen, eyes red and he looked awful. She immediately assumed that he was ill. She'd never seen him look this way before.

"Sir, are you alright?" she asked.

"No, Kim," he responded wearily. "I'm going home for the rest of the day. I'm not feeling well."

He was going home, but only after he stopped off at the basement. He had to talk to Fox and Dana. He had to find out how the bastard had come across that tape. Dana was his only lead so far. He didn't think for a second that she had anything to do with it, but he had to check.

"Can I suggest some chicken soup, sir? It does wonders when I'm sick," Kim said.

He smiled sadly at her concern. "I'll try it, but I don't think it will do any good in this case." Not unless there was some form of magical chicken soup for fucked up situations. 

FUBAR. The acronym rolled around in his head. Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. A left-over phrase from his days in the Marines. Strange that it should be so fitting now.

***

Monday Mid-morning  
Basement Office  
J. Edgar Hoover Building

"Scully, the damned Coke machine ate my money again," Mulder said while walking back into his office. He had horrible luck with the machine. It worked beautifully for everyone but him. "Can you see if it will behave for you." He handed her the seventy-five cents.

She took the coins and went down the hall to retrieve his drink. Why was it that the machine didn't respond to Mulder? She never had any difficulties with it. Before she put the money in, she pressed the button for the "Cool Nestea" that Mulder drank. The machine spit the can out right away. She shook her head back and forth. 'No difficulties here,' she thought.

As she walked back to the office, she heard the motors of the elevator bringing someone to the basement. She assumed it was one of the cleaning people or Skinner. They seemed to be the only ones who visited the "Spooky Den" on a regular basis. She didn't wait for whoever it was that got off the elevator, but continued on into the office carrying Mulder's drink and his change.

"It worked just fine for me. Again," she teased, tossing the can to him and dropping the coins on his desk.

"I'm telling you Scully, the damned thing is possessed. It hates me," Mulder said. "If it does decide to take my money and give me a drink, it gives me something that I didn't want." Last time he had ended up drinking Diet Mr. Pibb all week.

"Well, I'm sure it would all be better if you went and apologized to the machine for kicking it," Dana joked. She started laughing and when Mulder glared at her, she laughed even harder.

The door of their office opened and Skinner walked in. Dana's laughter died on her lips when she looked at his face. Something horrible had happened. Mulder looked up at the sudden silence and saw his very distraught lover standing in the doorway.

"I need to talk to you," Skinner said quietly, pointing to Mulder. "Alone, if I could Agent Scully." The tone was not his usual Assistant Director voice, but something that Dana didn't recognize. She just nodded at his request and left the room. Whatever the problem was between them that Skinner had to bring up at work, she didn't want to be in the middle of it.

"Could you just wait outside," Skinner said to her before she was completely out the door. "I need to talk to you also in a minute."

"Yes, sir." She shut the door and left the two men alone.

Skinner said nothing at first. He pulled up Scully's chair close to Fox and held his hands.

"Fox," he started. Suddenly he didn't feel as if he could continue. He stopped and swallowed hard. He couldn't allow the tears to start again because if he did, he wouldn't stop. It took him what seemed like an eternity to gather his wits about him again.

Fox just stared at him with eyes wide. Something was very, very wrong.

"I, uh, just got a visit from Cancerman." Each word felt as if it were being ripped from his throat. "He has a tape of us together and is blackmailing us because of it."

Fox jumped back and away from Walter as if he'd been burned. This was the worst possible thing he had imagined. 

"H-how?" was all he managed to squeak out. They'd been so careful, or so he thought.

The older man stood and began pacing the room. "I don't know. The tape was from the loft, the one that Scully set us up in that night."

He didn't need to elaborate, Mulder knew exactly where and when he was referring to. His thoughts screamed, Scully wouldn't, would she? No, no, no. It couldn't be her. Someone else was responsible for this, someone Scully had trusted also. Mulder went through every conversation they had in the past month. Who could she have been working with.

As he rifled through his memories, Skinner had opened the door and asked Dana back into the room. She was scared by what she saw. Mulder was backed up into a corner of the room looking very much like a frightened animal. His eyes were wide and darting back and forth. He looked ready to run for it any second. She threw a questioning look at Walter but he didn't see her. He was staring at the floor; his hands shoved into the pockets of his overcoat.

"Scully." It was Mulder who broke the silence, his voice like that of a terrified child's. "Who did you get that loft apartment from?"

She was about to ask which loft, when it suddenly dawned on her what they both may be so scared about. Someone had traced their paths to that apartment and put them together there.

"Uh, Frohike helped me set it up," she said. "It was one of his friends' apartments I think."

Frohike?! Mulder didn't want to believe that the man had anything to do with this, but it was entirely possible. He had damning evidence on Cancerman. Had he struck his own deal with the bastard in order to save his skin? Mulder didn't wait to sort through his feelings on this. His anger took control.

He suddenly pushed everything off of his desk, sending papers, pens and evidence scattering to the floor. The fierceness of his action startled both Scully and Skinner. Scully had witnessed Mulder's anger before and took a step back.

"God damn it!" Mulder shouted. "He didn't. Please tell me he didn't do this!" he asked the sky. The admonition of "trust no one" screamed into his skull. He hadn't listened, again.

"Who or what is Frohike?" Skinner asked. He had heard the name before and guessed that it belonged to one of Mulder's contacts but really had no idea who it was.

"Someone I thought that I could trust," Mulder spat out. He began to gather his jacket and things. He was going to pay a visit to his "friend" and find out what the hell had happened.

"I'm going with you," Scully said. She wanted to make sure that Mulder didn't do anything he'd regret later if it was proven that Frohike was responsible for whatever had occurred.

"Be careful," Skinner said to their backs. "I'll be at home the rest of the day if you need me."

***

Monday Afternoon  
Den of the Lone Gunmen

The sudden movement in the hallway tripped a silent alarm. Byers was on it in a second. He relaxed when he saw on the video surveillance that it was only Mulder coming to visit. He appeared to be in a hurry.

"Mulder is on his way up," he announced to Langly and Frohike. They always looked forward to a visit from the FBI agent. He was a source of constant amusement and amazement. This time though, Langly and Frohike both exchanged worried glances.

"I hope he got my message before something shitty happened," Frohike muttered. Otherwise, he was going to be in deep trouble.

The way that Mulder slammed open the door, Frohike knew that the agent hadn't received his message. Mulder strode across the room, pulled his gun out of the holster and had Frohike up against the wall before any of the Gunmen had a chance to react.

"You better start talking quickly before my finger slips," Mulder said in a seething whisper. He had tried to calm down before he arrived, tried to think rationally, but his anger kept taking over. Deep down inside, he didn't believe that Frohike was directly responsible for the information leak. He had to find out though, even if it meant scaring everyone, including himself.

"Put the gun down Mulder," a voice said behind him. It was Scully. She had followed him upstairs, her own gun was pointed at him and he didn't doubt for a second that she would pull the trigger if he didn't obey. "We can discuss this without weapons."

He straightened up, removed the gun from Frohike's head and calmly took out the clip. He was still boiling angry and because of this, he saw the logic in Scully's words. It would be too easy to slip when he was angry.

Scully dropped her own pistol once Mulder put his down. For the first time in several minutes, the Lone Gunmen breathed. They were used to dealing in cyberspace with information. Real life situations, especially those involving guns, were totally foreign to them.

"Would someone mind telling me what the heck is going on?" Byers asked. It was clear that everyone in the room, except for him, had an idea of what had happened. 'That's what you get for leaving for a few days,' he thought.

Mulder ignored his question, took a deep breath and said calmly to Frohike, "How did that Smoking Bastard get that video tape of me? You and Scully set up the deal. Start talking." Acting this calm, he was even scarier to Frohike. He tried to compare the agent's frame of mind to a natural disaster, but even the eye of a violent hurricane sounded wrong.

"I left you a message at your apartment, but it appears that you didn't get it," Frohike started shakily. He wanted to just spill everything, but it sounded so ridiculous to his own ears. He hadn't taken his usual extreme precautions to ensure everyone's safety and anonymity, and it backfired.

He explained slowly everything that he could remember about Scully's request, his actions and his later discoveries.

"When I found the surveillance equipment, I sort of put it all together. I don't know how long Daffy'd been working for the Smokin' Dude or why. I mean, he was a low-grade hack, y'know? What would the guy want with him?" Frohike was still confused over that. He hadn't found any connection between Daffy and the Smoking Man other than the incident in question.

"Did you go to Daffy for the apartment, or had he offered it to you?" Scully asked. Besides her original request for a safe place, she had left all the details to Frohike. She had placed the same sort of trust in the geeky man as Mulder had. She too felt partially responsible for what had happened.

Her question confused Frohike even further. "Uh, he offered me the use of his place anytime I wanted it 'cuz he owed me a lot of favors." He thought back to the time when Daffy had first made the suggestion that he use the place.

"Come to think of it," Frohike continued, "he was rather insistent that I could offer it to any of my friends if they needed it as well. I put it down to his just being over- eager to please at the time, but now I'm not so sure."

During his explanations, Mulder had taken a seat near a small frosted window. He was so very tired. Tired of playing these stupid games with his life, his work, and his friends. He was caught up in a play in which he didn't know the lines or the cues. Just ad lib and hope it all fits in. If it doesn't, you lose, but in this play, you lose your life, or freedom, or your sanity. He wasn't sure how much of his sanity he had left. It was a truly frightening thing to think about. He felt himself losing control again. 'Not here, not now,' he thought, but it was too late, the first tear dropped from his eye.

Scully and the Gunmen fell silent when they noticed that Mulder was crying. He didn't seem to notice that they were even in the room anymore. The sight of his tears unnerved the three men and added to Byers confusion. He guessed that he'd just have to wait until later to find out what had happened.

"Do you have anything that could possibly prove that Cancerman had Daffy killed?" Scully asked trying to turn their attention away from Mulder. If they had some concrete proof, maybe they could reverse this blackmail ploy.

Frohike shook his head no, still eyeing Mulder. "I'll see if I can dig anything up. What exactly happened on his end of this?"

"The black-lunged snake is blackmailing them with the tape," Scully said indicating Mulder and his implied lover. "You can imagine the consequences for yourself."

Langly gave a low whistle in sympathy. Frohike had filled him in on the details after they had left the loft. They were in a very bad position. No wonder Mulder had gone ballistic. His career and reputation were on the line in a way that was more detrimental than his usual problems with authority. His previous exploits in disobeying orders paled in comparison to having carnal knowledge of your direct same-sex superior in the old fashioned halls of the FBI.

"Jesus H. Christ!" Frohike swore. "I'm so sorry. I'll do anything I can to help out." He meant it too.

Scully just nodded. She'd be doing her part as well. Together, they just might be able to come up with something that could help the situation a little better. She made their farewells and collected Mulder before they left to try and salvage the rest of their day.

Once the video cameras had shown that the two agents had left the building, Byers said, "OK. Somebody tell me what's going on!" Langly looked at Frohike. Frohike looked at the floor.

"The Smokin' Dude got a video of Mulder and his lover doin' the wild thing in Daffy's loft," Langly supplied when it was obvious that Frohike wasn't going to speak.

"So?"

"Male lover," Langly said. Byers' eyes went wide.

"There's more," Frohike said, "his lover is Assistant Director Walter Skinner." Byers' eyes went even wider.

Oh yeah, Mulder was in deep shit. Very, very deep shit.

***

Scully's car  
Somewhere in D.C.

Mulder hadn't spoken since they left the Gunmen and Scully was getting worried. He had the tendency to talk more when he was angry or upset, not clam up like this. He also never broke down in front of other people before. He hadn't even complained when she insisted that she drive.

So far, in her opinion, his relationship with Skinner had been one of the best and worst things that could possibly happen to him. She wasn't sure if she could deal with the new Mulder anymore. He was so different now than before. 'Before when?' she had to remind herself. He had been in his relationship for almost a year before she had found out. So the change was probably only in her own mind.

"I think you should take the rest of the day off," she suggested. "It's only a couple of hours. I'll cover for you." He numbly agreed. Without asking, she drove him to Walter's apartment. It was her opinion that he shouldn't be alone right now.

Once at the apartment, she walked with him up to the door and left him in the care of his lover.

"I'll be at the office for the rest of the day. If either of you need me, use my cell phone," she instructed Walter. He thanked her and she left them together; there were a lot of things that she had to do before the day was over.

***

Monday Afternoon/Evening  
Crystal City Apartment

Once the door shut, Fox went to move into Walter's arms, but the older man turned away from him. Thinking that Walter hadn't seen his movement, he put a hand on his arm. Walter shrugged it off, keeping his back turned.

"What is it?" Fox asked. Had he done something wrong? He hated not knowing why someone was upset at him. Most of his childhood after Samantha was abducted, he had the feeling that he'd done something wrong and neither of his parents would tell him what, but their passive-aggressive behavior made it clear to his adolescent mind that he was to blame. He pretty much felt that way now. His logical side said that Walter wasn't angry at him, but at the situation they were in. His emotional side said differently.

"I think it would be best if you left," Walter whispered. God, he didn't want to say that. He wanted nothing more than to grab Fox and hold onto him forever, but he was frightened. Cancerman had brought about his worst nightmare: exposure. He had to separate himself from what was causing the personal danger. It was a survival instinct.

"Why, Walter," Fox asked. He sounded like a little child with his constant 'whys'. "The damage is already done. What's the point of pretending it never happened?"

"I - I can't deal with this right now," the older man stammered. He just wanted to hide somewhere. He knew it wouldn't do any good, but he wanted to anyway. "I just need some time alone."

"Whatever happened to 'We'll get through this together'? Huh, Walter? Whatever happened to the 'through good times and bad'? Do you thing that you can just up and leave in a marriage every time the going gets rough?" Fox was really upset. The last bit was a blow below the belt and he regretted saying it.

Walter knew that he was right though. His feelings of wanting to run away were just a cop out. He'd copped out of every difficult personal situation he'd been in since Vietnam. He'd copped out and gave into pressure to marry Sharon. He'd copped out and settled for second best, or the path of least resistance in relationships all of his life. He could deal with being shot at, doing dangerous deeds or hunting criminals but he couldn't face uncertainty or problems with someone he cared about. It was so much easier to push it away.

"We made a commitment to each other. Did that mean anything to you, or was it just a ritual of words?" Fox wouldn't let up, he wanted to push Walter into responding. He needed to push him into a response. So far in their relationship, the older man had seemed to be the stable one but his stability ended when his own career was on the line. Both men knew it. Fox had to know just how far Walter's commitment went. Was he a fair weather lover or one that could withstand whatever life threw at them?

"Walter Sergei Skinner, are you going to answer me?" Fox asked when his lover hadn't responded.

Walter Sergei Skinner, when had been the last time he had been called that, by anyone? The sound of it was enough to shake him out of his funk.

"Christ, you sound like my mother when she was pissed at me," Walter said. That was the only times his full name had been used. He supposed it was appropriate now, he had been avoiding the question.

"Well?"

"Yes," Walter said, "I meant everything I said." He turned to face Fox. His face was full of uncertainty and naked fear.

"I'm just so scared right now that I can't think. I just keep thinking that if we hadn't fought in Seattle, we never would have ended up in that damned loft to make up and none of this shit would have happened." He didn't add that he still felt guilty over starting their argument in the first place, he didn't need to because Fox saw it in his eyes.

Fox reached out and touched his lover's face tenderly. "Walter, if you keep beating yourself up over that argument, it's going to kill you. It's over, it's done with and it wasn't your fault. What has happened is over, we can't change the past. There's no use dwelling in what-might-have-beens."

Fox sounded so professional and confident that it made Walter proud. For every time he thought that his lover was a child in a man's body, Fox would do something that proved he was a very shrewd and mature individual. His "adult" moments seemed to get clouded over by his "child" ones only because of his overwhelming orneriness.

Walter smiled at his lover and reciprocated the tender touch. They stood, looking into each others' eyes for a long time before he finally tugged on Fox's arm and enfolded him into an embrace. "I'm sorry, again," he whispered into Fox's ear.

"Quit apologizing and just realize that your not alone," Fox said. "I'm with you in this, and I'll stay with you throughout. Remember, I love you. Forever."

***

"I'm scaring the shit out of myself these days," Fox said hours later, once Walter threatened him with a cold shower if he didn't reveal why he'd looked like death's door when Scully dropped him off. "I pulled my damn gun on one of my friends." He'd let his anger control him and his actions had been a shock to his system. He'd rarely acted this way before he'd been with Walter, but he'd never been in love like this before either.

Walter pulled him into an embrace as they sat on the couch. "We'll get through this Fox. Somehow." Just holding the younger man made then both feel better. Together they would find someway to conquer the situation and come out the winners. He had no doubts about it. Love conquers all. It sounded so clich�, but for some reason, he believed it would happen. 'I could just be deluding myself,' he thought wryly.

"What were the bastard's demands?" Mulder asked. He had been so wrapped in anger earlier that he hadn't heard Walter's full story.

The older man hesitated for a long time before answering. "He wants me to keep you from poking around in places were he doesn't want you to be, and he wants all the evidence of the Black Diamond Crop Circle."

"What?!" Fox sat straight up, pulling away from Walter, who knew the outburst was going to happen. Fox was very protective of the information he had, especially when it was irrefutable as the evidence on question. Fox held his hands up in a stopping motion. "He can't have it Walter. It's the most conclusive evidence that I have to date."

"That's probably why he wants it," Walter said. He was slightly confused because Fox's outburst hadn't been as violent as he had expected. He had been prepared to physically restrain his lover if needed. "You don't seem too upset about it." At least not as much as Walter had anticipated that he would be.

The younger man bit his lower lip and sat back down slowly.

"That's because I've already sent out the information to my safe sources. I couldn't get all the copies back if I wanted to." Fox smiled impishly. "I had a hunch that someone was going to demand it sooner or later so I secreted it away the second we got back home."

Walter had to laugh at his lover's paranoid ingenuity. He promised himself that he wouldn't chastise Fox for being so overly suspicious in the future. If he had allowed Fox to go through with his security techniques every time, they might not have found themselves in their current mess.

"Well then, you can give him the stuff at the office. Maybe it will appease him," Walter suggested.

"Maybe, just maybe..." Fox trailed off. Walter could see him planning things out and he asked Fox what he had in mind.

"I'm thinking," Fox said.

"That's a scary thought," Walter joked. He knew how devious his lover could get.

Fox leaned into him and with a wicked smile, he said, "You know Walter, I always think better while we're having sex."

"Christ, you're incorrigible!" He didn't argue though. It was very difficult to argue against something you wanted very much. "So, what are you suggesting? Do we just do it here on the floor and risk rug burns again? Or, maybe the kitchen table?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of the kitchen counter ...Eek!" Fox squealed. He didn't get a chance to finish his thought because Walter had tossed him over his shoulder and was hauling him to the bedroom.

"What? No sense of adventure?" Fox asked as Walter dropped him on the bed and began to hastily remove his clothes.

"Why do you keep asking that?" Walter asked in return. "I've got a good sense of adventure, but I've also got good sensibility. The kitchen table could never withstand the pounding I'm planning for you right now." He removed his briefs to reveal his engorged cock and Fox's eyes went really wide.

His stomach flip-flopped and he felt slightly faint. Walter's intensity scared him sometimes, but it also turned him on like nothing else. Walter moved toward him but stopped just short of touching. Fox had closed his eyes, prepared to let his lover take him, but at first nothing happened. He felt Walter move away. He opened his eyes. Walter had moved to the other side of the room and was fiddling with the stereo.

"What are you doing?" Fox asked raggedly. Fuck the music; he wanted Walter so bad. The older man walked back to the bed, pausing only to start the music via remote control.

"I've always wanted to fuck to this music," Walter said as the beginning strains of the music started. "I hope you not in the mood for a nice slow fuck, because this isn't going to be one."

"Take me. Hard!" was all that Fox said. A violent screw was the only thing to get their anxieties out. Walter flipped Fox over onto his stomach. He wanted him up on his knees so that he could take him from behind.

They moved into position. Walter began to lubricate Fox's anus quickly, the sense of urgency was overwhelming. He plunged into the tight warmth as the first words of the song started.

Despite the searing power of Walter's cock ramming into him, Fox had to laugh at his lover's choice of song. It was the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil".

"You're a sick bastard Walter," he said. Walter just thrust back into him in response. Oh God, it hurt, but it felt so good at the same time. Each one of Walter's thrusts sent his body rocking forward. He had to move one of the pillows in front to keep his head from hitting the headboard. He responded to his lover's forceful thrusts by pushing his buttocks backwards to force his penis to bury itself to the hilt. He'd pay for this for the next few days, but right now, it was worth it.

Walter wasn't so far gone in his fucking that he forgot Fox's needs. He reached a hand around and began to pump Fox's own hard-on. The younger man was whimpering and writhing with pleasure. His movements caused his anal muscles to contract around Walter's penis. Two or three severe contractions was all it took for Walter to come. He gave one last, mighty thrust before expelling his sperm deep into Fox's bowels.

Fox continued his backwards rocking, even after he felt Walter come. He wasn't ready to let go of his lover yet. The older man's powerful hand was still on Fox's cock, pumping it wildly. Fox let out a mewling sound every time the rough calluses on his hand caught on the edge of the glans. Walter moved in close to him in order to keep his softening penis inside.

"Come on," Walter said into Fox's ear, "Come for me Fox." He free hand reached around Fox's other side and clamped onto the younger man's left nipple. Fox gasped loudly at the pressure on his nipple combined with the other sensations. He was concentrating so hard on trying to come that he barely felt Walter pull him into a sitting position, still impaled on the older man's cock, which was amazingly growing hard again.

He opened his eyes to see their reflection in the mirror. Walter was sitting on the edge of the bed with Fox on his lap. Walter was biting his neck while still manipulating his nipple and cock. They moved together in a frenzied but beautiful dance.

"Come for me," Walter said again, his tone more commanding this time.

"I'm trying," Fox said through clenched teeth. He wanted nothing more but for some reason his body was not responding to his commands. He'd never had the problem of not coming before. With him, it had always been a case of pre-mature ejaculation, not the other way around. Walter increased the speed of his pumping. The fervent motions were helping but still not enough for Fox. It suddenly dawned on him what he needed.

"Make it hurt Walter," he said. He needed the shock of pain, the sudden violence that would push him over the edge. It wasn't often that he needed it but when he did, nothing else would do. Walter just continued to do what he had been and Fox was afraid that he either hadn't understood or wasn't going to help him out.

Without warning, Walter brought his left hand down hard onto Fox's inner thigh. The ferocity of the slap was enough to break Fox's chains of resistance. The pain seared through his body and connected to the impulse that was holding back his orgasm. Spurts of hot semen flew out and Fox's body was wracked with shuddering convulsions of a man in a desperate orgasm.

Walter had another small orgasm himself in response to Fox's. He let go of the younger man and fell back onto the bed, his hand still stinging from the blow he had landed on Fox's leg.

When the older man fell back onto the bed. Fox had to put his hands out behind to steady himself. He gently stood up, unsure if his legs would hold his weight. He wobbled unsteadily towards the mirror in order to get a better look at his leg. A perfect impression of Walter's handprint glared back at him. He smiled and laughed giddily. He was deliriously, stupidly happy that for the next few hours at least, he would carry Walter's mark on him.

"Are you alright?" Walter asked, when Fox laid back down on the bed beside him. He hoped that he hadn't hurt him too bad. God knew, his own hand still stung.

"I'm fine," Fox said. He nuzzled against Walter's chest, kissing and licking it. "I'm more than fine."

Walter became aware of the music in the background again and reached for the remote to shut it off.

"What on earth possessed you to play *that* song?" Fox asked. It was one of his favorites, but it hardly qualified as music to have sex to. Walter just shrugged and explained that it was something he'd always wanted to do. There were certain unusual things that he wanted to do and he planned to fulfill as many of those things as he could.

The two men lay cuddling on the bed, talking into the evening about the strange and unusual fantasies they had and figuring out which ones were remotely possible to fulfill. By far, Walter's were some of the stranger ones, a fact which was not at all lost on Fox. For all of his own weirdness, Walter had a far more sense of the bizarre.

***

Monday Evening  
Den of the Lone Gunmen

Byers was beginning to believe that he had fallen into a bizarre episode of the Twilight Zone. Scully had just arrived at their hideout with an armload of pizza. She wasn't dressed in her usual FBI clothing but in jeans and a sweater and she was being polite, even nice to Frohike. After he had been told the full story about Mulder and the videotape, he began to understand the sudden change in the female agent's behavior. She felt as guilty as Frohike did over the information leak and was determined to fix the situation.

"OK, what can I do to help you find what we need?" she asked Frohike, who was just as stunned as Byers about her 180 degree turn.

"You ever hacked?" he asked.

"No."

"Used bypass codes?"

"No."

"Worked with, uh, informants?"

"Sometimes." All three Gunmen rolled their eyes. She wasn't going to be much help at this rate. All the stuff they needed to do to find the information was considered illegal, or at best, shady.

Frohike was about to tell her to go on home when Byers asked, "Can you type?"

She shot him an evil look. "I'm a Federal Agent and a doctor, what the hell do you think? Of course I can type!"

"Good," he said, ignoring her remark about her credentials. He wasn't about to list all of the so-called professionals that he'd met in his life who could barely write their own names let alone anything else. "You can consolidate all the info we get into a logical format. I'm assuming you know your way around a word-processor." She confirmed that she did. He showed her to a computer and let her work her way around it.

"Sorry that the software is Mickyslop, but I got it for free," he apologized.

"What's the matter with Microsof...." She didn't get a chance to finish the word because all three men hushed her as if it were a taboo subject.

"Don't say the 'M' word aloud," Langly warned, "B.G.'s spies are everywhere. It's also bad luck. Way bad luck."

Without responding, she turned back to the computer screen silently vowing to kill Mulder once she got him out of this mess. If it hadn't been for him, she would have never met these three bizarre individuals and she wouldn't have been stuck here tonight dealing with them.

'I should have stuck to cadavers and lab tests,' she thought. 'At least dead bodies aren't freakazoids like these guys.'

***

Tuesday, Very Early Morning  
Scully's apartment

The time on her dresser clock read 3:17 a.m. It had been a very long, tiresome and annoying night, but the rewards were worth it. They had found something that would save Mulder and Skinner from the Consortium and their Smoking cohort.

Apparently there was some discord among the unnamed group of puppet masters. The Cigarette Smoking Man was not sharing everything he knew about Mulder's activities with the rest of his friends. Dana didn't know how Frohike had found this information out, she didn't ask and she sure as hell didn't want to know. All she had done that evening was to cut and paste what they told her to and clean the information of bad spelling and grammar errors.

The finished product was impressive. Frohike had managed to trace that it was on Cancerman's order that Daffy was killed. He'd also traced that Cancerman had purchased all of the video equipment in Daffy's apartment as well. He had orchestrated this thing from the beginning and had waited patiently for someone to fall into his trap. The sheer amount of devious patience the bastard had to play these kinds of games made an impression on Scully. In some ways, Cancerman was as determined and obsessed with his objectives as Mulder was with the truth. 'Comparing the two men on any level is unfair to Mulder,' she thought, but they did have similarities.

With the evidence Frohike had found, Scully believed that Mulder should be able to strike a deal with Cancerman: mutual silence. It wouldn't be a great deal, but it should work very well. Frohike figured that Cancerman had a lot of his own secrets that he didn't really want to have made known, especially to the rest of the Consortium. They were hedging all bets on that assumption. If it came to light that the bastard really didn't care what news was made public, they would be in serious trouble.

She crawled into bed, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before morning. Her dreams swirled around hidden agendas and outrageous conspiracies. She told her dreaming self to never mix pizza and the Lone Gunmen together again. Her dreaming self agreed wholeheartedly.

***

Tuesday Morning  
J. Edgar Hoover Building  
Basement Office

The pictures and documents that lay on the desk allowed Walter to breathe easy for the first time in a little over twenty-four hours. His first instinct upon seeing them was to kiss Scully. She had pulled nothing short of a miracle to help he and Mulder out. The information before him was enough, in his mind, to shut the black-lunged bastard's plans down cold. He handed the file over to Mulder.

Mulder pawed through the data, shaking his head in amazement. Frohike had outdone himself this time. His actions made Fox regret his harsh treatment of the man. He'd have to apologize and show his appreciation for all the hard work at a later date.

"All I can say is - Wow!" Skinner said. "I don't want to know how you got this, but I'm glad you did."

"What did you do to Frohike to get this, Scully?" Mulder asked leering at her. "Did you promise to sleep with him?" She whacked his arm and screwed up her face in disgust.

"No. That's disgusting." She shivered in her seat at the thought. "I brought him pizza and a huge dose of good, old-fashioned guilt. I didn't need to heap anymore onto him though, he feels bad enough about all of this. Plus, you scared the crap out of him." Mulder just shrugged, he knew he'd gone over the top and didn't need to be reminded of it.

"So what's the plan from here?" Scully asked. As she asked, she noticed that Mulder was repeatedly running his hand over his upper thigh. It was such an un-Mulderish movement that it caught her attention. She threw a questioning look at him, but he just smiled and ignored her.

"We wait until tomorrow," Skinner said cryptically. Neither he nor Mulder were telling her the entire story in order to protect her. The fewer people that knew, the safer. Maybe one day she'd hear all of the details, but she wasn't going to hold her breath for it.

***

Wednesday Morning  
J. Edgar Hoover Building

The man used his private entrance into the building, one that he could come and go, and smoke as he pleased without interruptions. He had doors like this in all of the major government buildings. They used to make him feel empowered but lately he just didn't care. He was getting far too old for the game and had no one to pass his legacy onto. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he did have someone, but the person in question wouldn't accept it. On that he was certain. Too much had been screwed up previously. The old man had made bad choices when he was younger and his consequences had been losing his best friend and all access to the boy.

The boy, he mused. The boy was a constant source of annoyance and an even more constant source of amazement. His powers of deduction, photographic memory and sheer audacity separated him from the rest of the sheep. He was an extremely sharp young man. The old man believed that his best attributes were certainly not inherited from his mother. He shook his head. It was best not to think of her anymore. She was nothing more than a breathing husk, a mere memory of her former self.

In his own twisted way, the man was protecting the boy. 'He's not a boy anymore,' he corrected himself. The videotape proved that. He didn't care if the boy, scratch that, young man was a homosexual. Or did he prefer the word gay? The old man had had his own flings when he was younger. It had been a shooting offense in his youth though. Today it was still detrimental but not life threatening. He sighed heavily, the sound coming out as a wheeze, the world had changed so much the past thirty-some odd years.

He couldn't allow the rest of the Consortium to get a hold of the news on the tape. They would expose the young man immediately and ruin his career. The old man needed the younger one right were he was in order to assure equilibrium. Any one player suddenly thrown out of place would upset the entire apple cart and possibly bring about utter destruction of everything he had worked for the past forty years. He wouldn't allow it to happen. As for Skinner, he was a minor player in a very important position. Had the boy chosen anyone else for his affair, the old man's blackmail would never have been necessary, but he had chosen Skinner, the one man who could do serious damage if he ever found out the truth.

A great many people in very important positions respected Skinner. That was why the blackmail was necessary, to keep Skinner quiet. The important people would listen to him where they wouldn't listen to the younger man.

The old man wondered if the boy's decision to have an affair with Skinner was based on some genetic need to always take the most difficult path available. He wouldn't have been too surprised if it were.

He took the back stairs to Skinner's office. The Hoover Building was almost deathly silent this hour of the morning, most Federal employees didn't show up until after eight. Skinner was an exception. That was why the old man chose to visit the building so early, he had no fear of anyone overhearing them at this hour.

The look on Skinner's face when he saw the man was murderous and cold. The old man had no doubt that Skinner would have killed him with his bare hands if he thought he could get away with it. He really couldn't blame him either, but he didn't care. He was doing this for the boy's own good.

"Do you have the information we discussed?" the man said between puffs on his cigarette.

"Not so fast," Skinner said, "I'm renegotiating the deal."

"I don't believe that you're in any position to do that Mr. Skinner. It would be best for Mulder's sake that you just comply." He couldn't believe that Skinner was trying to call his bluff. Not many men had the balls to do that if they had even an inkling of a clue as to who he was. Skinner knew enough. The knowledge alone should have been enough to scare the balding man half to death.

"You keep Fox out of this you bastard." Skinner threw a file at him. "Open it."

The Smoking Man peeled back the cover of the file. He almost smiled at the pictures and documents he found behind it. Almost. The smile would have been because he was very impressed that they had found the information at all. It almost made him proud of the deviousness. But, like Skinner, he was practiced at not showing emotion. He also knew that the file could have serious repercussions. It clearly linked him to the death of a young hacker. He'd have to be more careful in the future. He wasn't afraid of the information leaking too much, he just didn't want to have to explain it to the rest of the Consortium. The men involved in the Consortium were cruel and petty. They would make him grovel for redemption if they had the evidence in the file and knew that he was working behind their backs.

"All right, Mr. Skinner," he said flatly, "what did you have in mind." They were going to have to play hard ball after all. The idea didn't scare the old man; he would have just rather avoided it altogether.

"You'll get the most of the evidence on the crop circle, but that is it. After that, nothing, and we agree on mutual silence forever. Deal?" Skinner also added that all copies of any damning evidence that either one of them had would be destroyed. Neither man planned on destroying all copies, but the offer to do so was an expected thing. It was blackmail etiquette. Skinner had done his homework well.

"Most of the evidence? I asked for all, Mr. Skinner." Let's see how hard he's willing to play.

"Well, I don't think that you're in a position to ask for that, now are you. Mulder wants to keep the one picture that he took and I'm willing to let him. Let's just say that it will be a personal favor, OK?" The old man agreed to let Mulder have his one picture as long as it was not distributed.

The two men exchanged their evidence, videotape for a file. As before, the Smoking Man had placed the video in the cover of "The Fox and the Hound".

Looking at the cover again, Skinner said, "Is this your attempt at humor?" He would have never admitted to the cancerous demon that he found the cover amusing. The animated feature was one of his favorites.

"Something like that Mr. Skinner," the man exhaled. He left then, clutching the file to his side, a trail of smoke following him. He wasn't too upset with the deal. He'd placed a small bet and broke even, it was better than losing. Sometimes you lost, sometimes the rules changed, the game was fickle that way.

Skinner locked the door after him and sat down heavily in his chair. He began to shake with relief that it was over. He had been so afraid that Cancerman would laugh in his face at his paltry attempt of counter blackmail. It appeared to work though and it confirmed Mulder's suspicions that the man was doing a lot of his espionage without the approval of the Consortium.

He and Fox were relatively safe, for now. Skinner was sure that the black-lunged monster would have some other way of receiving the ongoing information that he had originally asked for. It was time to take stronger security measures, both in their personal and business lives.

***

Friday Evening  
Crystal City Apartments

"When do you think the paranoid anxiety will begin to wear off, and I can stop looking over my shoulder expecting to see the head of OPR coming to take me away in chains?" Walter asked Fox. He believed that Cancerman would uphold his end of the bargain, but he was still nervous.

"In about five to ten years." Fox's tone was serious. He too was deeply troubled by the whole incident. Walter was just glad that he hadn't reverted into his protective shell.

"...and just as the Bureau is getting ready to promote you to Senior Director, POOF! OPR will show up, haul you away and Cancerman will be standing there looking like the cat who mutilated the canary for the fun of it." Fox flashed a puckish smirk. He had a truly sick sense of humor sometimes. Walter threw a pillow at him but the missile bounced off harmlessly and landed on the floor, creating no more havoc than tousling Fox's already mussed hair.

"Well, if that's the case, then I guess I never have to worry again," Walter said. "The Bureau would never promote me to Senior Director. I don't fit the bill."

"Don't sell yourself short Walter."

"I'm not. It's the truth." He explained the inner unknown policies to Fox. The Senior Director was expected to be married, have children and be the fine upstanding civil servant that the American public expected. A Senior Director had no secrets.

"I'm also not considered social enough. I hate those damned Bureau parties. The only one I've ever enjoyed was the Masquerade." Walter flashed his own evil grin.

"Don't remind me!" It was Fox's turn to throw a pillow at Walter. The Masquerade had been one of Fox's most embarrassing moments in his entire life and Walter had taken full advantage of it. Walter caught the pillow and threw it back. In its wake, he lunged at Fox, knocking the thinner man onto his back. They both tumbled off the bed and onto the floor with Walter landing hard on top.

"Ouch! OK," Fox gasped. He was having trouble breathing because of Walter's weight on top of him and because he was laughing too hard. "You got me pinned. You win!"

"And what do I win?" Walter asked without moving. He liked the feel of his lover writhing around beneath him. He ran a finger over one of Fox's more ticklish spots causing the younger man to squeak.

"Anything. Anything you want. Just stop tickling me."

"Anything?" Walter said. This could be a lot of fun. He tickled Fox again.

"Yes, yes, yes," Fox giggled. "Just get off me you big oaf." He regretted saying it when Walter began tickling him harder.

"Big oaf? Need I remind that it's only about fifty pounds that separate us?" Walter said, not relenting at all in his tickling attack.

"Yeah," the younger man said breathlessly, "and that fifty pounds is sitting on my chest. I can't breathe." With the last word, he pushed Walter off of him and rolled out of the way. Jumping up off of the floor, he crouched into a defensive position, ready to fend off any more attempts at tickling.

Walter stood up and calmly smoothed out his t-shirt, pretending to ignore Fox altogether. The younger man watched him move and when he was sure that Walter had given up on his offensive, he relaxed his stance. It was the moment Walter had been waiting for. He pounced.

Fox was caught completely off guard, again. Walter's weight landed on him and he was thrown to the ground for the second time of the evening but the older man's momentum didn't stop there. They rolled together a few times before coming to a stop with Fox on top. They both erupted into laughter.

Their merriment overtook them so that neither one could speak for several minutes. When one would stop laughing, the others' giggles would get him going again. It was exhausting.

"Whatever in the world has gotten into you?" Fox asked when he could speak again. Walter had been very silly today which wasn't normal. He liked it, but it just was unusual.

Walter just shrugged in response. He honestly didn't know why he was feeling so weird. Maybe hanging around Fox this past year was beginning to rub off on him, or he was beginning his second childhood. Either way, he was sure that he liked acting silly. It was so relieving not to have to be professional all of the time.

"Wanna do something really wild?" Fox asked. He had that look in his eyes that made Walter's parental instincts go into overtime. He was up to something no good again.

"Like what?" he wasn't too sure that he wanted to know. Maybe he should just agree and go along with it. If he knew what it was, he might become too afraid to follow the whim. What was the stupid bumper sticker he saw recently? Follow your bliss. It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Fox licked his lips. The gesture made Walter get hard. He wondered if the younger man had any idea how incredibly sensuous he was, or how erotic his full lips could be. Sometimes Walter would just get caught up in looking at his lips while he was talking. It had happened more than once. There had been so many times it occurred while Mulder and Scully were giving reports, where he had found that he remembered nothing of the conversation at all, only those luscious, pouting lips.

Fox looked down at Walter with a knowing stare when he felt the older man's penis harden, a loving smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He bent down kissing Walter deeply, encompassing his mouth, possessing it with his own.

"What wild idea did you have?" Walter asked again when they broke the kiss apart to breathe. It could be one of the wild ideas they had discussed the other night. A promise had been made to fulfill as many as possible before they died.

"You really want to know?" Fox suddenly turned shy. He wasn't too sure of his own idea. The last hair-brained idea he'd come up with had backfired on him.

"Yes. Yes, I really want to know." His lover's sudden shyness was intriguing. What was it that had Fox worrying about his own idea?

In answer to the question, Fox leaped up and went over to his coat which was draped over the bedpost. He glance over his shoulder at Walter who was still lying on the floor. Gathering up his nerve, he reached into the pocket and withdrew his standard issue handcuffs. He had no idea how Walter would react. He spun around and sheepishly held them out in front.

A look of shock, then curiosity and finally amusement spread across Walter's face. He laid his head back onto the carpet and started chuckling. He was more amused by Fox's shyness over the prospect of using handcuffs than the idea of the handcuffs itself.

"You or me?" he asked when the first wave of laughter had passed.

"Huh?" Fox was so confused. Laughter was not what he had expected from Walter. Shock, outrage or horniness, yes, but not laughter.

"Were you planning to use those on you or me?" he clarified. Either way, it would be fun. He'd played around with bondage before. Way before Sharon, who thought the idea was sick. It had been a very long time, but he was up for it.

"Uh, me?" It was more of a question of Walter's acceptance than anything else.

Walter stood up and came across the room, holding his hand out for the cuffs. "Are you sure you want them on, rather than on me?" He was sure that Fox was just too unsure about his reaction and that the younger man really wanted to have him be the one in the cuffs.

"Well..."

Walter took the cuffs from Fox. He smiled at his lover as he latched one of them over his own wrist and silently offered the open one back to Fox. The younger man's jaw fell open and he swallowed hard.

"Do what you want," he said. It was all the encouragement that Fox needed. He grabbed the open cuff and tugged on it for Walter to follow. He led him to the bed where he had the older man lay down on his back; clipping the other cuff around Walter's free hand only after he had looped the short chain around a post on the headboard.

Walter calmly watched as Fox positioned him and then went into the bathroom to rummage around in the drawers for something. He reappeared a moment later holding several items in his hands. From Walter's spot, he could only make out a tube of lubrication and what looked like a hairbrush. Fox dumped his prizes on the floor and then set about to arrange things. He sneaked glances in Walter's direction every once in a while, afraid that he might be going over the edge of the older man's acceptance, but Walter just watched him with a look of amusement crossed with curiosity.

Seeing his lover chained to the bed gave Fox a strange sense of empowerment. Although undeclared, he always fell into the role of "bottom" not by choice but by deferment. To take control was one of his fantasies, one which Walter seemed to be enjoying also as it appeared that he was hard under his sweat pants.

'Clothes!' Fox wailed inwardly, 'I left his damn clothes on.' He dropped his current task and set about removing Walter's sweat suit and underclothes. With the hands chained above, Fox had to pull the shirt over Walter's head but leave it on his arms; he didn't want to undo the cuffs at all lest he lose his nerve and suddenly turn shy again.

Goosebumps prickled Walter's nude flesh, it was a little chilly in the room. The coolness of the air made his nipples hard but didn't affect the hardening of his penis at all. It was fully erect, awaiting the promise of fulfillment.

Fox fiddled around with a few more things before dimming the lights in the room. With his glasses removed, and the lack of light, Walter was nearly blind so he didn't see Fox reach out for the remote to the stereo. The sudden strands of unfamiliar music filling the room startled him but he eased back down as Fox began to kiss him.

Silken cloth was pulled over his eyes before he knew what had happened. He guessed that it was one of Fox's ties, and hoped that it wasn't one of his own. Now totally blinded, he could only feel and hear what the younger man was doing to him.

He felt the lips move away from his face and trail down his neck, to settle on his left nipple. The nibbles, kisses and sucking went directly to Walter's pleasure center. He stretched out, arching his back as much as he could willing the sensation to continue. He went to move his hands down to feel the silky strands of Fox's hair but remembered too late that he was cuffed to the bed. With a sudden clank of chain against wood, the cold metal bit into his wrist making him wince under the blindfold. The brief pain mixed with Fox's vigorous sucking brought about a sensation that surprised Walter. He was beginning to understand the need for pain mixed with pleasure. A well placed flash of pain intensified the enjoyment.

He let himself get lost in Fox's ministration to his body, falling into the waves of passion, letting each overtake him anew. His drifting was interrupted by the feel of ice-cold metal being dragged against his stomach. He tried to identify the object that moved against him, causing him to shiver as it was draped lower and curled around his cock. It felt like chain, but not a crude one; finely-tooled so that it slid smoothly and didn't catch the skin. Something was attached to the tail end, something heavy.

Warm fingers parted his legs allowing the chain to sink down along his inner thigh. He gasped at the sudden coolness. As it slid, it constricted around his penis and some of the links pooled around and on his balls. The fingers played with the chain and balls, cupping them together, rolling them around so that the weighty metal bit into the flesh just a little.

Walter's breath picked up its pace and formed into short exhalations through his nose. Despite the frigid shackles, he was still very, very hard. Every scrape against the engorged flesh sending spirals of light through his brain. He felt the fingers squeeze the area of flesh between the testicles, judging the right spot. They held on tight then moved to the side a little and were replaced by metal. A sharp intake of breath signified the closure of the ribbed clamp. It hurt, but not enough to ask for it to be removed. Gentle tugs on the attached chain sent odd stabs of discomfort through his balls and into the pit of his stomach.

He was dimly aware of the other end of the chain being unraveled from his cock and pulled downward. He lost track of where it went, only concentrating on the constant pressure between his balls. Before the feeling became too intense, his attention was diverted to the warm, wetness as Fox's mouth engulfed his cock with one smooth gesture. He hissed with pleasure as the steaming orifice surrounded and fed off of him. The strokes of the mouth were accentuated with rhythmic jerks of the fetters. Tugging and sucking became one motion, pleasure and pain combined to produce gut-wrenching exultation.

His balls began to pull tight and he felt the warm rush of seed boil up, preparing to shoot heavenward. A sudden pressure on his cock, right below the crest of the glans stopped the orgasm, forcing the motion backwards to subside restless, like a pit of lava roiling in his gut.

"Not yet," the voice from above whispered. He sighed in resignation. He should have expected this. How many times had he said the very same thing when the roles had been reversed? He relaxed his body again and allowed the moment of control to pass back to Fox.

The hand was withdrawn from his penis and trailed down his leg to fasten the end of the chain around his ankle. The chain wasn't quite long enough; if he stretched his leg all the way out, it tugged on the clamp. He gave it an experimental jerk and saw stars at the ache he was rewarded with. A low moan escaped his throat. It was absolutely delicious.

"Do you like that Walter?" Fox was playing cat-and-mouse with the question. Skinner nodded. Yes, he did like it very much. In some ways it was rather surprising how much he enjoyed it.

Warm air breathed against his pubic hair, Fox was very close to him again. He felt kisses and bites on his stomach, inner thighs and chest. Everywhere, in a random pattern, Fox's mouth was on him switching from soft caresses to harsh nips. Then the hands were added. Pinches and strokes; fingers curled into claws and ran nails across the over-sensitive flash of his nipples. His gasps and moans intermingled, becoming unclassified noises that when a wandering hand or lip would accidentally brush his cock, would crescendo with punctuated cries.

He shuddered when a finger, greased with lubrication penetrated his anus a little way. He wanted it to go deeper. For the first time that evening, he wished that he wasn't shackled to the bed. The cuffs restrained him from moving further down on the bed to take more of the finger inside. The finger withdrew and entered again, several times, teasing the puckered ring. A bead of sweat rolled off the end of his nose and he became aware that he was completely soaked. Then the finger pushed in again, as deep as it could go. He bucked against it, wishing it were thicker, wanting to have it fuck him mercilessly.

Again, the finger was withdrawn, only to reenter and be joined by its neighbor, Two, then three fingers pumped into the tight orifice pausing only to allow more lubrication to sink in. They worked in and out with a fierce determination. Fox's free hand grasped onto one nipple and his mouth again fell onto Walter's penis, taking in the entire length.

The sensations of nipple, cock and ass being worked was too much. Walter began to thrash about on the bed, the jerking of his leg pulling at the clamp attached to his balls. Explosions of light blossomed behind his clenched lids and psychedelic designs twirled. He came with a shout, an orgasm that was drawn in and through his entire body and erupted out the top of his purple shaft.

His body pulsated and twinged in tandem with his heartbeat. The fingers slowly withdrawing from his ass, the mouth pulling back and licking his penis, and the infernal clamp on his balls all captured his attention. He lay, wracked with sweat and exhaustion, staring at the cloth covering his eyes; his mind still spinning from the mind-numbing climax.

He sensed, rather than felt, Fox move away from him. The creaking of the bed told him that the young man had left him alone for a moment. He began to slip into a fugue state, his heart rate finally slowing a little and allowing him to breathe normally again. A dull ache in his wrists reminded him of the cuffs still firmly latched to the bed.

"Fox," he croaked. His mouth was dry and he wanted a drink of water very badly. He couldn't sense Mulder anywhere in the room. A moment of panic covered him and visions of the book "Gerald's Game" flitted through his mind.

"I'm right here Walter," Fox said, very close to his ear. He jumped in spite of himself. He hadn't realized that Fox was so close.

"Can you take these things off? I'm going to rip my hands off if I'm not careful." Fox chuckled and unlatched the cuffs. Walter sighed with relief as he pulled his arms down. They shook uncontrollably.

The blindfold was removed and Walter winced and shielded his eyes from the light shining out of the bathroom door. He reached between his legs and found the clamp with his fingers.

"I suggest removing that very slowly," Fox said. "It's been on there for a while and the sudden rush of blood could be very painful." Walter grunted in agreement. He squeezed the ends of the clamp together with exaggerated slowness and even with all of his caution, it stung like hell when it finally released the tender flesh.

He lay, gasping in air in great gulps for several minutes as Fox gently stroked the top of his head and cooed unintelligible sympathetic noises at him. When he could breathe normally again, Fox left his side to shut down the house for the evening.

Upon his return, Walter spooned up against him and asked, "Where the hell did that come from?" the evening had been spectacular, but totally unexpected.

Fox rolled over and grinned at the older man in the dark. "Where did what come from? The clamp or the whole thing?"

"Both."

"Well," he started, "the clamp is left over from my intense masturbation sessions before you and I got together. I told you that sometimes I need sharp pain in order to come." Walter nodded, remembering the conversation.

"...and the idea in general..." he trailed off and Walter had to poke him in the ribs to get him to continue. "Well, I do have an extensive, and well read, porn collection."

They snuggled together some more, each lost in their own thoughts. Walter was thinking about what story he'd have to concoct to explain the cuff marks on his wrists in case anyone noticed them.

"Besides," Fox said impishly, just as Walter was beginning to drift off to sleep, "a tight-assed Assistant Director like you just screams to be dominated every once in a while. Admit it, Walter. You enjoyed it!"

Walter growled low in his throat, pulled Fox closer and kissed the back of his head. He had enjoyed it, but he didn't have to admit it aloud - not yet.

  
****THE END****

e-mail: with input. Flamers not welcome!

PS - more stories of Fox and Hound to come - stay tuned slash sluts!


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